Antisemitic Conspiracies Blaming Israel for Spain’s Migrant Surge Reach 100 Million in 72 Hours

Antisemitic conspiracy theories blaming Israel and the Jewish people for the massive migrant surge into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta reached an estimated audience of more than 100 million people on X within 72 hours, the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) revealed in a new report published Sunday, August 2. Between 50,000 and 60,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta on Thursday, July 30, prompting Spain to declare a state of emergency.

An analysis by CAM’s Antisemitism Research Center found that 173 posts from 119 influencer accounts recast the border crisis as a Jewish plot, generating 57.5 million views, an estimated reach of 103.1 million people, 1.9 million likes, and more than 368,000 shares. The migrant influx followed a Spanish domestic legal ruling and came amid tensions between Spain and Morocco, as well as years of pressure on Europe’s asylum system, yet conspiracy theories claiming Israel had orchestrated the events rapidly gained traction. The analysis focused exclusively on named, monetized influencer accounts, many of which held paid verification that gives their content greater visibility.

“A humanitarian emergency at Europe’s border was turned into a global antisemitic campaign in under 72 hours, and X did nothing to slow it down,” said CAM CEO Sacha Roytman Dratwa, adding that the platform’s design rewards the fastest and most inflammatory explanation available. CAM called on X to introduce algorithmic safeguards for keywords associated with established antisemitic tropes during humanitarian emergencies, to remove accounts spreading such content from advertising and verification benefits, and to deploy expert Community Notes providing historical context in real time.

(INN/VFI News)

“Dear God, we pray in Yeshua’s Name against every lie and conspiracy spoken over Israel and the Jewish people. We ask You to expose falsehood wherever it spreads, to protect Jewish communities from the hatred these lies incite, and to give courage and success to all who labor to combat antisemitism. Please turn the hearts of those who spread and believe these slanders, and let truth prevail across every platform and nation.”