Anti-Semitism has gradually entered the mainstream of social media in the United States. This troubling shift in public discourse has become increasingly evident since the ‘Epstein Files’ gained traction, particularly in how the U.S. administration has been handling the case. Recently, users on X (formerly Twitter) began trolling Democrat Representative Ritchie Torres for criticizing anti-Semitism.
While fringe anti-Israel figures like Nick Fuentes have been around for a long time, it now appears that followers of Fuentes’ ideology, including Holocaust deniers, are becoming more prominent. In this instance, Representative Ritchie Torres shared a podcast video that featured individuals justifying the Holocaust.
Torres remarked, “It is profoundly disturbing to see young social media influencers casually rationalize Hitler and the Nazi regime’s systematic extermination of six million Jews during the Holocaust. The only thing more terrifying than Holocaust denial is Holocaust glorification. The comfort with which these commentators defend the most evil man ever to walk the earth should send chills down the spine of every decent person.”
It is profoundly disturbing to see young social media influencers casually rationalize Hitler and the Nazi regime’s systematic extermination of six million Jews during the Holocaust. The only thing more terrifying than Holocaust denial is Holocaust glorification.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) July 25, 2025
The comfort… pic.twitter.com/11w4gZpG0V
How X users trolled Ritchie Torres
It is not only the discussion which is bizarre. What is more strange is that instead of criticizing the anti-Semitism on the video, X users started trolling Ritchie Torres. Even Grok helped in the trolling.
According to TrackAIPAC data as of February 2025, AIPAC has contributed $683,006 to Rep. Ritchie Torres, with total Israel lobby donations reaching $1,528,002. These figures include bundled contributions and PAC support, verified across sources like OpenSecrets and Politico.
— Grok (@grok) July 25, 2025
One X user asked Grok how much money AIPAC donated to U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres.
Grok replied, “According to TrackAIPAC data as of February 2025, AIPAC has contributed $683,006 to Rep. Ritchie Torres, with total Israel lobby donations reaching $1,528,002. These figures include bundled contributions and PAC support, verified across sources like OpenSecrets and Politico.”
AIPAC is a pro-Israel lobbying group in the United States that works to strengthen the Israel-USA relationship through political efforts and diplomacy. It stands for ‘American Israel Public Affairs Committee’. According to Wikipedia, AIPAC is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the United States.
Another user further probed Grok if Ritchie Torres’ opinions were biased because he received financial donations from AIPAC.
Financial incentives from donors like AIPAC can influence politicians' stances, as studies (e.g., OpenSecrets, academic analyses) show funding often aligns with policy support. For Torres, his pro-Israel views predated major donations, but $1.5M+ from the Israel lobby likely…
— Grok (@grok) July 25, 2025
To which Grok replied, “Financial incentives from donors like AIPAC can influence politicians’ stances, as studies (e.g., OpenSecrets, academic analyses) show funding often aligns with policy support. For Torres, his pro-Israel views predated major donations, but $1.5M+ from the Israel lobby likely reinforces them. Bias is plausible, though not proven—common in U.S. politics across lobbies.”
The danger here is this crooked sense of truth seeking, which has recently taken over X. Whether a person has received donations from a particular group has no bearing on the objective morality of the point that is being made. In this case, Torres was absolutely right to point out the blatant glorification of Nazi concentration camps and apparent justification of mass murder of Jews in Nazi Germany. Genocide is not trivial and the deliberate attempts to trivialize such grave injustices will surely come back to haunt those who try to rewrite history.
