Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Narratives blaming Jews for French riots sweep X, report finds

Demonstrators gather around Place de la République in Paris amid tear gas on Oct. 17, 2026. Cars and shared bikes were set on fire on Boulevard Voltaire and extinguished by the Paris Fire Brigade (BSPP). Photo by Jorge Jaramillo/Wikimedia Commons. Riot. France.
Demonstrators gather around Place de la République in Paris amid tear gas on Oct. 17, 2026. Cars and shared bikes were set on fire on Boulevard Voltaire and extinguished by the Paris Fire Brigade (BSPP). Photo by Jorge Jaramillo/Wikimedia Commons.
JJxFile \ Jorge Jaramillo

Antisemitic sentiments on X following the civil unrest that recently erupted in France serve as another recurring example of online conspiracy theories blaming Jews and Israel for world events, according to a report released on Sunday by the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s (CAM) Antisemitism Research Center (ARC).

Over a two-day period, the ARC documented 1,384 such posts from 816 unique accounts. The most common terminology variants included: Jewish elite orchestration, Israel/Mossad orchestration, Zionist manipulation, “Pro-Israel accounts are behind it,” Kalergi/Great Replacement, Rothschild/ZOG/money, and “Who benefits,” said CAM, a global coalition of interfaith organizations.

The same pattern on X followed when tens of thousands of migrants crossed into Ceuta, Spain, on July 30, 2026, according to CAM. Posts from 119 influencer accounts recast the border crisis as a Jewish plot, reaching an estimated 103 million people in 72 hours, ARC has found.

When terrorists tried to hijack FlyDubai flight FZ1073 to Tel Aviv on Sept. 30, 2026, the first post blaming Israel appeared 67 minutes after the distress signal, CAM continued.

The ARC collected 18,381 posts from X using 25 search queries in 7 languages. Any post linking the unrest in France to Jews, Israel, Zionists, or the Mossad was counted as antisemitic, according to CAM. Researchers read all 4,922 candidate text groups by hand and reviewed the 100 most-viewed posts individually.

See more from JNS Staff
“You’re the man I want by my side, Bibi,” the U.S. president told the Israeli premier.
A central message of the prime minister’s campaign is that the “change camp” can’t win without the support of Arab parties.
The U.S. president’s backing may influence more voters than conventional analysis assumes.
Neil Blair established High Line Publishing Studio to help Jewish and Israeli literary figures who are shunned by mainstream publishing houses.