TEL AVIV – CyberWell, a trusted partner of Meta (Facebook, Instagram and Threads), TikTok and YouTube, and a leading organization in digital compliance solutions for hateful content, identified resurfacing antisemitic conspiracy theories across social media blaming Jews and Israel for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks ahead of the 25th anniversary.
The posts reflect one of the most prevalent forms of online antisemitism CyberWell has tracked in recent years: conspiracy-driven scapegoating that portrays Jews as secretly and maliciously responsible for major world events, tragedies, and social problems. These narratives repeatedly adapt old antisemitic accusations to current events.
CyberWell has documented similar scapegoating around major events, including the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, the 2025 Minneapolis shooting, the hantavirus outbreak, the migrant crisis in Ceuta, and wildfires in Europe, Los Angeles, and Argentina. In each case, antisemitic narratives falsely blamed Jews for causing, orchestrating, or profiting from events with which they had no connection.
Unlike most event-driven antisemitic conspiracies, which tend to spike around a major event and then fade, 9/11 scapegoating has endured for decades and remains active throughout the year. More than a recurring conspiracy, 9/11 has become a reference point for newer antisemitic narratives, invoked as supposed proof that Jews were behind past crises and must therefore be behind the next one.
CyberWell identified scores of posts across Meta, Reddit, TikTok, and X claiming Jews planned 9/11, knew the attacks were coming, or secretly controlled the events. Some used a juice box emoji, a coded reference based on the phonetic similarity between “juice” and “Jews,” while others paired 9/11 images with the antisemitic “Happy Merchant” caricature to evade automated moderation systems. Other posts harassed individual Jews by accusing them of involvement in the attacks and used antisemitic slurs, including “kike.”
The posts also recycled the longstanding “Dancing Israelis” conspiracy theory, falsely alleging that Israeli men seen near the World Trade Center had advance knowledge of, celebrated, or were involved in the attacks. Other posts invoked Larry Silverstein, the Jewish businessman and World Trade Center leaseholder, falsely claiming his absence from the buildings that morning suggests that he had foreknowledge of or benefited from 9/11.
Together, these narratives recycle longstanding antisemitic tropes portraying Jews as a secretive and powerful group capable of orchestrating major world events for political or financial gain.
“September 11th was a horrific terrorist attack on a global scale against the entire free world. According to U.S. State Department figures, an estimated 200 to 400 Jews died at the World Trade Center, including five Israelis—meaning Jews accounted for roughly 10% of the victims,” said CyberWell CEO and Founder Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor. “Those trafficking in conspiratorial hatred online around the 25th anniversary of September 11 undermine the true lessons of this tragic event and tarnish the memory of its victims and the brave first responders who risked their lives to save others.”
“The outrageous and false conspiracy blaming Jews and Israel for the 9/11 attacks continues to spread widely online, amplified by engagement algorithms and, in part, by a lack of effective platform policies to address it,” Cohen Montemayor explained. “CyberWell has recently tracked significant increases in scapegoating of Jews for major world tragedies, yet very few platforms directly address this form of hatred in their Trust & Safety policies.” She added, “As AI and LLMs increasingly rely on social media data for training and as a source of knowledge, the risk of antisemitic conspiracies and bias being absorbed and reproduced as fact increases.”
“On the anniversary of 9/11, we must keep national security top of mind,” Cohen Montemayor added. “Foreign state actors are backing and amplifying wild antisemitic conspiracy theories that scapegoat Jews in order to erode social cohesion and security in the West. As major social media platforms increasingly automate content moderation with AI, expert partners who can recognize how antisemitism evolves through coded content and new forms of scapegoating are increasingly vital to effective enforcement against conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns designed to destabilize societies and sow hatred.”
CyberWell is an independent, tech-based nonprofit combating the spread of antisemitism online, operating globally. Its AI-powered technologies monitor social media in English and Arabic for content promoting antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and incitement to violence against Jews and their allies based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. Its analysts review and report this content to platform moderators and index verified posts in the first-ever open database of antisemitic social media posts, cataloging it openly for transparency at app.cyberwell.org. Through partnerships, education and real-time alerts, CyberWell partners with social media platforms and digital service companies to help them enforce their policies more effectively, promoting proactive steps against online Jew-hate. For more information, visit: cyberwell.org.
