ZOG conspiracy posts spiked over threefold online during 2026 Iran war, study finds

The "Zionist Occupied Government" (ZOG) conspiracy theory saw a dramatic increase in online prevalence, more than tripling during the 2026 Iran war, according to a study by Fighting Online Antisemitism (FOA). The study analyzed two 38-day periods in 2026, comparing a baseline period (January 21 – February 27) with the war period (February 28 – April 6). During the conflict, the volume of conspiracy posts captured an "explosion" of 217.6%, reaching a total of 3,138 posts compared to 988 in the baseline.

The ZOG conspiracy theory, which falsely alleges a secret Jewish or Israeli cabal controls global institutions and governments, particularly the U.S., became a dominant theme. Its prevalence within the monitored content rose from 49.1% in the baseline period to 63% during the war. Public engagement with this rhetoric also intensified, with conspiracy content receiving double the likes and a tenfold increase in shares compared to pre-war levels. FOA noted that geopolitical crises act as direct volume multipliers for ZOG-related content.

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This increase highlights how the geopolitical crisis functioned as a direct volume multiplier specifically for ZOG-related content across the monitored networks.

Within 48 hours of the initial military strikes, broad anti-establishment narratives were systematically replaced by more localized labels such as "Zionists," "Mossad," and "Jewish control." FOA criticized social media platforms, particularly Meta, for their "deficient" response to this hateful content. Meta's enforcement was found to be ineffective due to a loophole that requires ZOG to be "clearly" used as a proxy for Jewish people, allowing extremists to frame antisemitic tropes as political debate. This structural flaw meant Meta's automated systems failed to remove 70% of reported content. X/Twitter did not respond to FOA's findings. FOA urges platforms to prioritize verified civil society organizations in their content moderation efforts.

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its enforcement remains ineffective