DUBAI: TikTok has removed the account of far-right Israeli influencer Roi Star for “breaking its rules on hate speech and bullying.”
It came after The Guardian newspaper flagged videos that showed him harassing activists in the occupied West Bank.
In one video, posted in January, Star is seen entering a house being used as a base by left-wing activists in Ras Ein Al-Auja, in the Jordan Valley, and pepper-spraying an activist who tries to prevent him from entering. He also threatened the other people present, and their families, and subjected them to continued harassment.
The incident was filmed by Star himself and also the activists, including Andrey Khrzhanovskiy, who posted his footage on Instagram.
Star defended his actions, telling The Guardian he had gone to “talk about peace.” He justified his use of pepper spray as “the most minimal thing you can do to defend yourself,” and dismissed the threats he made as “acting.”
He added: “It is my right as a citizen of Israel to walk around public areas … It (the West Bank) belongs to Israel.”
TikTok said it does not allow “violent and hateful individuals” to use its platform. It added that it had also removed videos uploaded by “other TikTok creators linked to Israeli far-right agitators,” without naming them.
It comes amid growing concern over the proliferation of far-right Israeli accounts on social media, which researchers and activists say is intertwined with escalating violence.
Anat Ben-David, an associate professor of communication at the Open University of Israel, warned of “a troubling convergence between platform dynamics and on-the-ground violence.”
She added: “While platform policies remain deliberately ambiguous on hate speech, they are explicit in prohibiting actions that threaten harm to individuals. Yet such content is routinely amplified without meaningful intervention.”
Israeli activist Barak Cohen believes far-right influencers have crossed a “serious line.”
He said: “Violence against Palestinians feeds mob dynamics. The demand is for violence.”
The effects of far-right online content extend beyond the virtual realm of social media. Mohammad Hureini, a human rights activist in Masafer Yatta, said it has had real-world psychological and social impacts on his community.
“When people see this content, it heightens fear,” he said.
