Anti-Zionist Conspiracy Posts Tripled During Recent Iran War

Explicit references to ZOG increased from 485 posts, representing 49.1% of the baseline sample, to 1,977 posts, or 63% of the wartime sample.

By Shula Rosen

Fighting Online Antisemitism (FOA) reported a sharp increase in antisemitic conspiracy theories online during the US-Israel-Iran war, saying posts promoting the “Zionist Occupied Government” (ZOG) narrative more than tripled as the conflict fueled broader engagement with antisemitic content across social media.

The report, produced in partnership with the European anti-antisemitism watchdog TEV (Action and Protection Foundation), follows FOA’s March 10, 2026, qualitative study, How Antisemitic Conspiracies Are Hijacking the Iran War Narrative.

Researchers compared online activity during two identical 38-day periods: Jan. 21-Feb. 27, before the war, and Feb. 28-April 6, after military operations began.

Using targeted keywords, researchers tracked posts across Telegram, X, Reddit, LinkedIn, TikTok and VK that promoted claims of Jewish, Zionist or Israeli control over governments and foreign policy.

The study identified 988 relevant posts during the baseline period. During the war, that number jumped 217.6% to 3,138 posts, bringing the total sample to 4,126.

The report found the conspiracy narrative also became more concentrated around the ZOG trope.

Explicit references to ZOG increased from 485 posts, representing 49.1% of the baseline sample, to 1,977 posts, or 63% of the wartime sample.

References to the term “Cabal” also rose sharply, reaching 1,148 mentions during the war period.

FOA also found that conspiracy theories increasingly centered on claims that Israel or Jews controlled U.S. foreign policy.

Posts linking Jeffrey Epstein to Mossad-related allegations increased by 350%, while slogans such as “Israel First means America Last” became more common.

Public engagement also increased during the conflict. Average likes per post rose 21%, from 1,858 to 2,246, while average shares climbed 29%, from 284 to 367.

FOA said social media platforms failed to adequately respond after the organization reported content to trust and safety teams.

It said Meta removed only about 30% of the reported posts, citing what it described as a loophole in the company’s enforcement of policies against ZOG-related content. FOA said X did not provide a substantive response beyond an automated acknowledgment.

The organization called for faster review of reports submitted by trusted watchdog groups, demonetization of accounts spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories, contextual warning labels on related content, and expanded reporting categories for coded antisemitic speech.