Poll: 50% of Young Americans Question Holocaust, Nearly Half of Those Believing It a ‘Myth’

Half of young Americans are either unsure of the Nazi Holocaust’s authenticity or outright believe it to be a “myth,” according to a recent survey that reveals a worrying trend in the U.S. across the younger generation.

One in five young Americans believe the Nazi Holocaust to be a “myth,” according to the survey.

A YouGov/The Economist poll revealed concerning levels of Holocaust ignorance among young Americans, with roughly 20 percent of 18⁠–⁠29-year-olds believing the horrific tragedy — the systematic genocide of six million Jews and millions of other victims of Nazism — to be a myth, even higher than the eight percent in the 30⁠–⁠44 age group.

Additionally, 30 percent of young respondents are unsure about the Holocaust’s authenticity. Nearly a quarter of the same age group said the Holocaust has been “exaggerated.”

The poll also shows a significant number of young Americans think Jews have excessive power in the U.S., a belief five times more prevalent in this age group (28 percent) than among those over 65 (6 percent).

While the poll suggests that education level is not a significant factor in these beliefs as the proportion of respondents is similar across all education levels, the role of social media is notable. 

Pew Research indicates that Americans under 30 trust social media as much as national newsgroups, with 32 percent in this age group sourcing news from the Chinese-owned TikTok. 

In addition, the poll also found higher beliefs among black (27 percent) and Hispanic (19 percent) respondents about Jews having too much power in America, compared to white (13 percent) respondents. 

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization that researches the Holocaust and contemporary antisemitism, lamented the poll’s results. 

“Repeat a lie often enough, keep posting on social media, add Iran state-sponsored denial and new generations with zero collective memory of the past and here we are,” the organization posted Sunday.

Last month, young Americans were seen going viral on TikTok sympathizing with Osama bin Laden and recirculating his 2002 letter in which the terrorist leader attempted to justify the mass murder of Americans on September 11, 2001.

The findings come as lawmakers intensely questioned university presidents for over five hours in a congressional hearing about antisemitism on campuses last week.

Throughout the hearing, the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) evaded requests to confirm whether or not calling for the genocide of the Jewish people violates their schools’ codes of conduct.

On Saturday, renowned TV personality and psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw accused American Ivy League institutions of becoming “left liberal, woke hotbeds fostering intellectual rot rather than critical thinking,” as he called on the academic heads of the above institutions to resign “immediately.” 

In the clip, which garnered over 3.4 million views as of Monday evening, McGraw highlights the “weaponized prejudice” displayed by the university presidents of Harvard, MIT, and UPenn testifying on Capitol Hill with “sickening smugness” and “condescending” demeanor to the congressional panel with “an arrogance and dismissiveness seldom seen in that forum.”