Conspiracy theories blaming Jews for Europe's wildfires are spreading online, Cyberwell warns

A new wave of antisemitic conspiracy theories is spreading online, blaming Jewish people for wildfires across Europe, according to an alert issued by the NGO Cyberwell to X/Twitter. Cyberwell identified nearly identical narratives concerning recent wildfires in Norway, France, and Spain, describing it as a recurring pattern of "event-driven antisemitism" where major crises are exploited to incite hatred toward Jews.

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recurring pattern of event-driven antisemitism, in which major crises are exploited to spread hate toward Jews.

Analysts found posts in multiple languages claiming Jewish individuals deliberately started the fires or orchestrated them for political or financial advantage. Content related to the Norway wildfires alone surpassed 2 million views on X, transforming an isolated conspiracy into a widespread antisemitic phenomenon. Similarly, content about Spain's wildfires reached over 69,100 users, according to Cyberwell's data.

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CyberWell found that bad actors and antisemites repeatedly inserted Jews into breaking news through familiar antisemitic tropes portraying them as secretly responsible for disasters or as profiting from human suffering.

Cyberwell noted that similar antisemitic theories have emerged following other major events, including wildfires in Los Angeles and Patagonia, as well as the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting and a hantavirus outbreak. The NGO stated that bad actors repeatedly insert Jews into breaking news using familiar antisemitic tropes, portraying them as secretly responsible for disasters or profiting from suffering.

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the same scapegoating stories, once popular in Nazi propaganda during the Third Reich, now trend on every major social media platform after a crisis. Any major event can become a vehicle for blaming Jews online.

Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor, CEO and Founder of Cyberwell, highlighted that these scapegoating stories, reminiscent of Nazi propaganda, are now trending on major social media platforms. She explained that while the details of the crises change, the underlying message remains consistent: Jews are maliciously portrayed as orchestrating disasters or profiting from human suffering. This pattern demonstrates how antisemitism continuously adapts to the news cycle by recycling centuries-old myths.

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The details change, but the underlying message does not: Jews are maliciously portrayed as secretly orchestrating disasters or profiting from human suffering. This pattern demonstrates how antisemitism continuously adapts to the news cycle while recycling centuries-old myths.