Far-right extremists spreading antisemitic conspiracies about COVID-19

A new report released on Wednesday by the watchdog group The Canary Mission, has revealed that a large amount of antisemitic conspiracies relating to the coronavirus are being spread by a relatively small group of far-right conspirators and organizations, According to the report, coronavirus antisemitism is largely being spread online by the far-right individuals and organizations. 'Without their activities, a significant proportion of coronavirus antisemitism would not exist.' The report exposed a network of 26 white supremacists who have been spreading the majority of online antisemitic conspiracies relating to the coronavirus across various platforms, including six websites. Podcasts were found to be by far the most prevalent medium for spreading the conspiracies. 17 of the 26 far-right activists investigated in the report (65%) use podcasts to spread their message, most of whom use it as their primary medium. However, through the process of identifying the 26 leading white supremacists responsible for coronavirus antisemitism, the watchdog group found 12 other equally extreme white supremacists. The most common conspiracy of the five which studied in the report claims that “the 'Jewish-controlled government' is exploiting the virus to serve Jewish interests.' This conspiracy appeared in 73% of antisemitic posts studied by the watchdog group. For example, the report showed that Adam Green, founder of the conspiracist 'Know More News,' said, ““Rothschild stepped down last year from his Rothschild investment company, as well. Are they trying to get out? Insider trading? ...They didn't wanna be responsible for this big collapse they knew, that was planned. I've heard the term 'Plan-demic.'” The second most popular conspiracy claimed that 'Jews are taking advantage of the virus', appearing in the posts of 13 (50%) of the 26 individuals named in the report. An example cited by the report was Mike Mazzone, an antisemite with a strong online media presence, who tweeted, “how soon b4 holocough raises more revenue than holocaust,' according to the report. Disease-related antisemitism is nothing new, the group reminded. Blaming the Jewish people for various plagues and diseases has been a long-held tradition of antisemites throughout history. During the 14th century, while the Black Death was ravaging Europe, stories that claimed Jews had caused the plague resulted in tens of thousands of Jews being murdered. Some 12 of those investigated (46%) had claimed that Jews 'created and/or planned the coronavirus. Mike Peinovich, founder of the far-right media network 'the Right Stuff,' and co-host of the podcast 'the daily Shoah,' was given as an example for this type of incitement, saying that “Jews were accused of poisoning wells and spreading the black plague by people in the middle ages. My question is what did they see, and why do we so readily dismiss the words of our ancestors?...” 11 individuals (42%) were found to have spread conspiracies claiming that Jews are 'purposefully spreading the coronavirus' Far-right 'comedian' Owen Benjamin said “Corona was a stupid thing, invented by Masons & Jews,” in an example given by the study. The least popular type of incitement found in the report was the literal calling for violence against Jews, a sentiment which appeared in the posts of only 6 (23%) of the 26 individuals investigated in the report. For example, in the report, known white-supremacist Ryan Dawson said “all these Hasidics going around coughing on stuff… Round 'em up, put them in the paddy wagon. You know… Throw 'em out.” Since the events of the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, many of the larger social media platforms have been clamping down on far-right individuals who spread antisemitic vitriol. This has caused the far-right to seek alternative channels with less oversight such as Gab, BitChute, Dlive, vk and Telegram. The Pittsburgh Tree of Life and Poway synagogue shooters were both known to frequent neo-nazi and white supremacist platforms and had either echoed same antisemitic hatred online as 18 individuals in this report. The Canary Mission documents people and groups that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews. We investigate hatred across the North American political spectrum, including the far-right, far-left and anti-Israel activists.

Far-right extremists spreading antisemitic conspiracies about COVID-19

The most common conspiracy of the five studied in the report claims that “The ‘Jewish-controlled government’ is exploiting the virus to serve Jewish interests."

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Far-right extremists spreading antisemitic conspiracies about COVID-19

The most common conspiracy of the five studied in the report claims that “The ‘Jewish-controlled government’ is exploiting the virus to serve Jewish interests."

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