Michael Rapaport was scrolling through his Instagram direct messages on Saturday when he came across a message from user Jeffery Fernquist who wanted to let him know that all the Jews ”are gonna burn.”
Rapaport clicked on Fernquist’s page and was disappointed to discover Nazi and racist imagery scattered throughout the user’s feed.
Taking matters into his own hands, Rapaport took screenshots of the racist posts, and tagged Fernquist and his wife on his story, asking his fan base to report the page.
Images posted by @unkjones38 poked fun at Jews, implying that they were responsible for “infecting people.” In the comments section, Fernquist and his wife poked fun at Anne Frank.
“The memes that I saw were disgusting but once I saw him and his new wife dress up [with swastikas], that was the final straw,” Rapaport tells the Journal.
Rapaport also discovered that the Fernquists had children, and reported them to child services. “Instagram and Facebook won’t do anything so I really had to contact the proper authorities,” he says.
“Children should never be exposed to this—they are teaching them to hate at such a young age.”
For months, Rapaport has brought attention to the rampant racist and homophobic remarks made by users on social media platforms.
“The internet has been eye opening for anti-Semitism. I never dealt with it growing up in New York City. I have no problem giving them the attention they crave after coming into my DMs,” says Rapaport.
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