The Claims Conference and researchers at the University of Duisburg-Essen have launched a digital learning tool designed to help students recognize and respond to antisemitism, hate speech and Holocaust distortion on social media.
The program, called ShoutOut, centers on a 15-minute online game that places students in a realistic social media environment. Players take on the role of trainees in a resistance movement, analyzing posts, comments and patterns of online communication to identify antisemitic content and understand how it spreads.
ShoutOut
The game was developed by Dr. Monika Hübscher, Dr. Sophie Schmalenberger and Professor Nicolle Pfaff as part of the university’s “Social Media Literacy Against Antisemitism” project, with support from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, known as the Claims Conference.
ShoutOut is available in English and German and will be offered free to schools internationally beginning in July. It includes lesson plans, classroom materials and a virtual classroom screen that allows teachers and students to review and discuss gameplay together.
Gideon Taylor, president of the Claims Conference, said the tool is meant to help students better evaluate online content and give educators a way to discuss antisemitism, Holocaust denial and distortion.
The program teaches students to recognize conspiracy myths, stereotypes and Holocaust distortion; understand how algorithms, comments, likes and artificial intelligence can spread disinformation; show solidarity with people targeted by antisemitism online; and develop strategies for responding to hate and discrimination.
Hübscher said the game gives educators “a reliable, thoughtfully designed framework” for discussing antisemitism on social media and helping schools serve as spaces for democratic discourse.
Greg Schneider, executive vice president of the Claims Conference, said Holocaust survivors remember how hate speech led to violence and remain concerned about the dangers of unchecked hatred today.
The developers say the project responds to a gap in education, as antisemitic content spreads widely on social media while many schools still focus mainly on historical approaches that may not reflect students’ online lives. Initial international training workshops for educators and specialists in antisemitism education received strongly positive feedback.
Dr. Felix Klein, Germany’s federal commissioner for Jewish life and the fight against antisemitism, said ShoutOut helps young people identify antisemitic patterns, understand them and speak out.
The Claims Conference, founded in 1951 by representatives of 23 major international Jewish organizations, negotiates compensation and welfare funding for Holocaust survivors and seeks the return of Jewish property stolen during the Holocaust. It has offices in New York, Israel, Germany and Austria.
Since 1952, the German government has paid more than $95 billion in indemnification to individuals for suffering and losses caused by Nazi persecution through negotiations with the Claims Conference. In 2025, the organization distributed about $530 million in compensation to survivors worldwide and $960 million for welfare needs, including home care, medicine and food.