On Thursday June 12th, Israel launched a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, prompting Iran to retaliate with over 400 ballistic missiles targeting Israeli cities. In the week following, the Command Center has recorded an 165% increase in social media conversations related to antisemitism, Jewish culture, and Israel—the largest spike since Hamas’s October 7th terrorist attack.
Mention Volume by Week for All Social Media Conversations Around Antisemitism, Jewish Culture, and Israel
*Weekly data runs Sunday to Sunday, so the mention volume for this last week may increase
Following the launch of the operation dubbed Operation Rising Lion, Israel has received broad diplomatic support from many Western governments, echoing the solidarity shown after October 7. However, social media reactions have been far more divided—alongside messages of support, we have observed a sharp rise in antisemitic rhetoric and conspiracy theories.
In the sections that follow, we highlight key trends driving these online conversations including an increase in conspiracy theories, antisemitic rhetoric, and examining key differences among users from different generations
Conspiracy Theories Blame Jews for U.S. Control and World War III
Antisemitic conspiracy theories have risen notably in social media conversations since the start of escalations between Israel and Iran. Many of these narratives frame Jewish people or Israel as central instigators of global conflict, with posts claiming Jewish people are dragging the world to World War III. Since June 12th, mentions of “World War III” within monitored search terms related to antisemitism, Jewish culture, and Israel have increased 1,770%.
This conspiracy theory has appeared in several forms. A prominent variation suggests that Jewish individuals or the state of Israel control the U.S. government and are influencing U.S. foreign policy to the detriment of American interests. Overall, posts claiming that Americans are being sent to “die for” Israel or Jewish interests have increased by 2,920%, with more than 271,000 posts using this language since June 12th.
Another frequently cited phrase is “Israel first,” a take on the political agenda of “America first,” often used as a cynical contrast implying that U.S. politicians are betraying American interests because they are controlled by Jews and Israel. Usage of this phrase has increased over 500% this week. It has appeared in comment sections on posts by public officials, including:
- A comment on a post by Speaker Johnson: “Crazy how US politicians are all Israeli puppets. Y’all are Israel first, America second.”
- A comment on a post by President Trump: “I did not vote for this Israel first agenda.”
- A comment on a post by Congressman Randy Fine: “You are and always will be Israel first. You should be deported for treason.”
Continued False Flag Conspiracy Theories
Continuing a pattern observed over the past several months, false flag conspiracy theories have again trended on social media this week. We tracked over 185,000 posts claiming that Israel or Jewish actors are planning to orchestrate an attack on U.S. soil or American military bases in the Middle East, with the intention of blaming Iran and drawing the United States into the conflict. One widely shared post read: “Jews are now meeting to discuss the best way to perform a false flag attack on America.”
Since the start of 2025, we have identified over 539,000 posts alleging false flag operations linked to Jews or Israel—more than in any other year in our historical data going back to 2010. The latest spike, driven by reactions to Operation Rising Lion, has already surpassed the volume of similar conspiratorial posts we reported that followed the murders of Yaron Lichinsky and Sarah Milgrim in Washington, D.C. last month.
Classic Antisemitic Language Spreads Online
We have also seen a rise in explicit antisemitic rhetoric used in reaction to the war, with some people using the war as justification to promote hateful speech online. In the week following the war breaking out between Israel and Iran, we have tracked a 30% increase in posts saying Jews are evil, averaging at around 5,000 posts a day. Many of these posts also equate Jewish people to animals, and some declaring that Germans were not “hating Jews for nothing at all.“.
A post from X user @Libertas_Redux, with almost 350k views at the time of writing, uses classic antisemitic imagery while mocking missile strikes on Tel Aviv. The post states, “First footage we have of Tel Aviv evacuating” accompanied by a video of rats running through a dimly lit area. Hate continued to spread in the comments section, with posts such as “Don’t insult the rats” and “rats don’t kill people, Jews do.”
This is an example of the rising trend of reusing classic antisemitic tropes in modern conversations and in relation to Israel, comparing Israeli nationals today just like how Jews were compared to animals in the 1930s and 1940s to dehumanize and vilify them.
Rat imagery is used to assert that Jews are pests that bring disease and problems to the area, so the same themes are now used to argue against the legitimacy of Israel and whether the nation is “invasive” to the region. We saw a 5,700% increase in posts using rat imagery related to Jews since 2022, with a 1,057% increase in activity since June 13th. By continuing to use antisemitic language within this context, people further blur the lines between Judaism as an ethno-religion and Israel as a nation.
Another trend following the conflict escalation is a spike in posts saying that Hitler, or Nazi Germany, was owed an apology for the way the world reacted to their plan of killing Jews during the Holocaust, implying that due to Israel’s strikes on Iran, all Jewish people should have been executed.
Some people made posts online that the world “owes Hitler an apology“ for vilifying him for orchestrating the Holocaust, using phrases such as “everyone owes Hitler an apology”, “People owe that Austrian painter an apology”, and “the world should apologize to Germany”. On June 13th we identified a 24-hour period where the number of these posts increased by 405%.
Generational Divides in Israel-Iran Discourse Online
Online conversations surrounding the recent escalation between Israel and Iran saw significant generational differences in both volume and tone. There was a sharp spike in activity across all age groups between June 12th and 13th, coinciding with Israel’s preemptive strike and Iran’s subsequent rocket retaliation. As shown in the graph below, Millennials were the most active participants in these discussions, followed closely by Baby Boomers and Gen X. Gen Z users engaged the least.
Social Media Posts Broken Down by Generation
Clear generational divides in tone can be seen in the top phrases and hashtags used by each age group, with Baby Boomers tending to stay neutral, Millennials showing more humanitarian concern and focus on Iran, and Gen Z expressing the most emotionally charged and often anti-Israel rhetoric. While each age group also referenced Gaza in their posts, including use of the word “genocide,” it was not the dominant focus in any one demographic.
Baby Boomers mostly used neutral phrases such as “war with Iran,” and “Middle East.” Many also focused on what the U.S. might do next, with frequent mentions of “United States” and “President Trump.” Gen X users showed a similar pattern but also paid more attention to the specifics of the military conflict, using phrases like “nuclear program” and “Israeli military Air Force.”
Many Millennial posts remained relatively neutral, often referencing “United States” and “Middle East” most prominently. However, they showed increased attention to Iran and, at times, concern for Iranian civilians, occasionally including anti-Israel rhetoric. Phrases such as “bombing Iran” suggest a neutral focus on the conflict itself and on Iran as a target, while “Iranian children” points to a more humanitarian lens.
Notably, the phrase “Iranian children” was most often used to portray Israel as intentionally targeting children, a narrative that echoes the historic blood libel trope. Only a minority of posts expressed concern for the children without also invoking this type of rhetoric.
Gen Z posts had a noticeably different tone. While some neutral terms remained, there was a strong rise in anti-Israel language. Words and phrases such as “F*** Israel,” “Israel killed” appeared often. Even the phrase “Pray for Israel,” which might seem supportive, was usually used sarcastically or in a hostile context. One tweet read: “Pray for Israel? Okay sure I’m PRAYING for their DOWNFALL 🙏🏽.” Since June 12th, use of the phrase “pray for Israel” has gone up by 3910%.
