Online antisemitic and anti-Zionist conspiracy theories have surged during the US and Israeli military operation against the Iranian regime, the Anti-Defamation League reported Tuesday.
There has been a rapid convergence of extremists, ostensibly anti-war activists, and anti-Israel groups around a shared set of narratives, the ADL’s Center on Extremism (COE) said. These include that the strikes were launched for Israel’s benefit at the cost of American lives, that Jewish or Zionist actors exercise illegitimate control or power over US foreign policy, and that the war was deliberately engineered as a distraction from the release of the Epstein files.
These claims rapidly proliferated across X/Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, and other platforms, amplified in some cases by mainstream figures with millions of followers, the report said.
The ADL stressed that this is a familiar pattern: Major world events are being exploited to further promote antisemitic narratives, normalize extremist rhetoric, increasingly blur the distinction between fringe conspiracy and political commentary, and mobilize action under the banner of anti-war sentiment.
Extremist Narratives: Six trends in post-strike disinformation
The COE elucidated six trends in particular.
The first trend is the notion that the US is acting as Israel’s military proxy, and that Americans are dying for Israel.
The ADL described this as the most dominant and cross-ideological through line since the conflict began on February 28.
“Actors spanning white nationalists, influencers, anti-war voices, and Islamist-aligned groups all converged on the same core message: that the strikes on Iran were conducted to serve Jewish or Israeli interests at the cost of American lives,” the report said. These theories have been disseminated by online figures such as Candace Owens and groups such as Samidoun, CAIR, and NSJP.
Owens posted on X: “No one ever should sign up for [the] United States military outside of those who wish to join the IDF... We are an occupied nation.”
The second trend is the notion of Jewish/Zionist control of the US government, which is often denoted as ZOG. This involves explicit claims that Jews or Zionists have seized control of US foreign policy, leaning more heavily into classic antisemitic conspiracy-theory language.
This trend is popular among figures such as the neo-Nazi Aryan Freedom Network, right-wing online provocateur Sneako, and controversial streamer Hasan Piker.
The third trend is “Operation Epstein Fury,” which is the name coined by some figures to refer to the ongoing conflict. The recently released Epstein files themselves, as the COE wrote last week, are often wielded by bad actors as “proof” that Zionists control politics, are in cahoots with the ruling class, and that Israel and the Mossad are part and parcel with pedophilia.
Since February 28, the name “Operation Epstein Fury” has generated hundreds of thousands of mentions.
The fourth trend involves calls to action across both activist and extremist spaces.
For example, the ANSWER Coalition and many partner organizations coordinated multiple national “day[s] of action” under the banner of “Stop the War on Iran!” More than 150 protests took place in cities across the US from February 28 to March 2, and more are scheduled for another day of action on March 7.
Some of these protests appeared to incite violence against Jews and community spaces globally in response to the strikes on Iran. For example, Canadian anti-Zionist activist Laith Marouf wrote in a post: “As Jewish Temples, leaders and community spaces come under attack around the world in the next few days, there will be no one to blame but so-called ‘anti-Zionist’ Jews and Leftovers in Imperial Domains, who failed all their responsibilities to stop the crimes in their name.”
The fifth trend is the proliferation of classic antisemitic tropes and longstanding antisemitic conspiracy theories that link Israel to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
For example, Sneako, known for using his popular streaming platform to boost antisemites, posted on X a video of Israelis singing in a bomb shelter, with the comment: “Israelis dancing in a bomb shelter the same way they did when the second tower fell.” The post generated more than 700,000 views.
Antisemite and conspiracy theorist Daniel Haqiqatjou also posted a video on X of Israelis in bomb shelters with the caption: “They haven’t danced this much since 9/11.”
The sixth trend relates to Purim. Many posts pointed out the strikes were launched just ahead of Purim.
The final main trend relates to Purim, with many actors seizing on the fact that the strikes were launched just ahead of the Jewish holiday of Purim.
In a lengthy X post, Haqiqatjou said Israel “made sure to initiate its attack against Iran in Purim... perhaps the most evil and violent festival found in any religion,” and that Israeli Jews are using it “to call for the extermination of not only Palestinians but also Iranians.”
White supremacist podcaster Nick Fuentes attributed the conflict in Iran to “the Jews” during a March 2 livestream. He said they were “doing it on the Jewish holiday of Purim. It’s against the Persians, their mortal enemies.”