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Ben Clerkin

ByBen Clerkin, in New York

Analysis

One in five young Americans think the Holocaust is a myth – and it’s all down to TikTok

A further third aren’t sure the Shoah happened. Blame social media

December 13, 2023 16:04
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Judaism symbol. Jewish Star of David. Jude Cemetery in Cracow Ghetto. Kazimierz district. Poland. Auschwitz and Holocaust metaphor. Black and white.
3 min read

v The fact that one in five young Americans believes the Holocaust is a myth, according to a new survey, is a figure so preposterous that the mind wants to discard and ignore it.

It’s the equivalent of “unexpected item in the baggage area”. Unfathomable.

This was the approach taken last week by the Economist which, apparently bamboozled, published precisely five paragraphs on its own exclusive YouGov poll from which the finding came.

But the facts bear repeating. Some 20 per cent of Americans aged 18-29 stated that the Holocaust is a myth, compared to 8 per cent of those aged 30-44. A further 30 per cent of young people said they do not know if the Holocaust is a myth.