USA: The ‘Nova Now’ Terror Plot
From late December 2025 through January 2026, FOA stopped a domestic terror plot in the U.S. that showed how quickly online antisemitic talk can turn into real planning. By closely monitoring activity on X, FOA found a series of extremist threads in which a white nationalist group used the slogan “Nova Now” to signal plans to repeat the Nova massacre in the U.S. The group planned a mass-casualty attack for April 1, 2026, the first night of Passover, and aimed to target Jewish families.
The investigation revealed a clear shift from general hate speech to specific plans. Members referred to the October 7th attacks as a “blueprint” and discussed using knives for close-range attacks instead of guns. FOA gathered strong evidence, including digital fingerprints linked to the leaders, and provided it directly to the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. The plot was part of a rise in holiday-related terror threats in Michigan, following a thwarted “Pumpkin Day” plot in late 2025 and a New Year’s Eve threat in early 2026. This case clearly shows how online antisemitism and extremism can quickly become a real and deadly danger to the Jewish community.
Australia: Bondi Hanukkah Shooting and Ensuing Online Conspiracies
On December 14, 2025, during a public Hanukkah menorah lighting ceremony on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, two gunmen-Sajid Akram (50) and his son, Naveed Akram (24), both Australian citizens of Pakistani heritage— opened fire on the crowd.
The attack killed 16 people, including children, and injured over 20 others, making it the deadliest antisemitic incident in Australian history.
Following the attack, conspiracy narratives spread quickly across social media and messaging platforms. False claims circulated alleging that Jews, Israel, or the Mossad were behind the attack, portraying it as a staged “false flag” operation designed to gain international sympathy.
During the same period, we recorded a clear increase in antisemitic misinformation, rising from 3% in November to 7% in December.
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UK: “Death to the IDF”
On social media, the phrase “Death to the IDF” became widely visible after it was coined by the then-littleknown punk-rap duo Bob Vylan during their Glastonbury Festival performance on June 28, 2025. Following this exposure, the slogan spread quickly across platforms and led to a clear rise in inciting content. It also triggered an increase in content that combined incitement with explicit antisemitic narratives. Its rapid sharing through posts, videos, and hashtags, and as music on Spotify, increased online harassment, normalized calls for violence, and intensified overall hostility, raising serious concerns about the role of social media in spreading incitement and antisemitism. Common Hashtag: #deathtotheIDF #deathtotheIOF
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Washington, D.C. Murders (May 21, 2025)
On May 21, 2025, two Israeli Embassy staff members-Yaron Lischinsky (30, cultural attaché) and Sarah Milgrim (26-year-old consular officer)—were shot dead outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., during a diplomatic reception. The attacker, Elias Rodriguez (29, U.S. citizen with no prior record), approached the victims in the parking lot and opened fire with a handgun, killing both instantly before fleeing. Rodriguez was arrested three hours later after a manhunt; authorities found antisemitic manifestos and pro-Iran propaganda on his devices. On social media platforms, the diplomats were compared to the “baby killing soldiers” and the murderer was often hailed as a hero.
The Israel–Iran War
In June 2025, during the 12 Day War between Israel and Iran, the military escalation was accompanied by a sharp rise in antisemitic deepfake content across social media platforms. Hostile actors used advanced AI tools to rapidly produce highly realistic antisemitic deepfakes, far faster than fact-checking mechanisms could respond. The scale and speed of this content caused many users to doubt even authentic footage, allowing antisemitic narratives to spread under the claim that real evidence was “fake.”
AI-generated videos falsely showed Israeli cities, infrastructure, and military assets under catastrophic attack. These videos went viral within hours and were designed to provoke fear, while reinforcing antisemitic narratives about Israel and Jews.
Following October 7: Hostages Targeted Online
Throughout 2025, the war in Gaza remained a major source of global tension. Several hostage release deals brought some captives home, offering moments of relief for families and the public.
At the same time, these events led to a sharp rise in toxic online discourse. Social media became a key space for violent and harmful content, including antisemitic rhetoric and praise for terrorism. Particularly troubling was the increase in direct incitement and the mocking of hostages, as hostile actors used the publicity around the releases to spread dehumanizing messages and deepen social divisions.
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The Starvation Narrative: Antisemitic Tropes in Gaza Social Media Campaigns
Approximately halfway through the year, one of the most damaging false claims against Israel and the Jewish people emerged – that Israel was deliberately blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, thereby creating a man-made famine.
Photos and videos by the thousands flooded social media, and not only that. It became a phenomenon of mass hysteria, to the point that Jews of all nations began to be called “Baby Killers”. Many of these images were the result of deepfake AI, while others were the creations of the Palestinian false information production that has come to be known as “Pallywood”. The old trope of Jews as “Baby Killers” was revived, and even after the worst of the starvation campaign had ended, this horrible slur persisted.
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UK: Manchester Synagogue Attack
On October 2, 2025, during Yom Kippur (the holiest day in Judaism), a terrorist attack targeted the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, UK. The attacker, 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie (a British citizen of Syrian descent), drove a car into pedestrians outside the synagogue, injuring several, including a security guard, before exiting and stabbing worshippers in a brief but violent rampage lasting about six minutes.
Al-Shamie called emergency services during the incident to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS). The attack left two Jewish men dead and three others seriously wounded. This attack also resulted in online conspiracy theories.
USA: Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
Charlie Kirk, a prominent American conservative activist and political commentator, was assassinated on September 10, 2025, when a lone gunman and Trans activist, Tyler James Robinson, shot him during a public debate on a university campus in Utah, USA.
Within minutes, conspiracy theories began filling the web, the most common of which were #TheMossadDidIt and #TheJewsDidIt, with endless variations. Charlie’s assassination has not only spawned conspiracy theories and hate from the usual keyboard tigers but has also given big names like Candace Owens the chance to exploit this tragedy to further widen their audience and their conspiracy theories (mostly at the expense of the Jewish people).
Cyprus: Deepfakes Promoting Conspiracy Theories
In 2025, a surge in antisemitic rhetoric spread in Cyprus, mainly due to the growing number of Israelis buying property on the island.
The situation escalated during the June congress of AKEL, Cyprus’s second-largest political party, which has a long history of anti-Israel views.
AKEL leader Stefanos Stefanou called Israeli land purchases near sensitive areas a “serious national threat,” warning that Cyprus could “no longer be ours” if action isn’t taken. Beyond the political sphere, antisemitic content spread rapidly across social media platforms, particularly on TikTok, X, and Meta. These deepfakes— primarily circulated on TikTok—falsely claimed that “God promised Cyprus to Jews after Israel” and accused Jews of systematically buying homes, displacing locals, and driving up housing prices.
