Hamas Attack Draws Cheers from Extremists, Spurs Antisemitism and Conspiracies Online

Social media

>In the wake of the attack on Israel, antisemitic rhetoric spiked across social media platforms, particularly on extremist favorites 4chan and Telegram. This includes a rise in the use of phrases that call for violence against Jews, Israelis and Zionists.

>Our data show extremists appear to be emboldened by the Hamas attack, and have increased their violent rhetoric, posting hate filled messages and calls for further aggression against Israel and its supporters. On October 6, 2023, the day before the attack, there were 59 Telegram messages from extremists threats and calls for violence against Jews, Israelis and Zionists. However, in the first 18 hours of October 7, 2023, this number surged to 347 Telegram messages, marking an alarming increase of approximately 488 percent.

Antisemitic theories

>On X, a popular antisemitic influencer who goes by Lucas Gage posted several antisemitic and anti-Zionist conspiratorial claims. In one post, he alleged that Israel does not deserve sympathy because it helped coordinate the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a common antisemitic conspiracy theory. In another post, Gage blamed "our Zionist Occupied Govt," an antisemitic reference to the U.S. government.

>Others believe that such a surprise attack by Hamas is unlikely or even impossible, citing Israel's extensive intelligence networks, and claiming that Israel knew about the attack ahead of time but chose not to act preemptively to justify the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians. White supremacist Nick Fuentes pushed this narrative on Telegram, writing that Israel's intelligence failure “is a little suspicious in light of how the Likud government will benefit politically from this crisis both domestically and internationally.”

>Antisemitic conspiracy theorist David Icke also discussed the attack on X, alleging that Netanyahu and Hamas are "owned by the Global Cult" and that the attacks are another step towards World War 3.