European wildfires spark wave of antisemitic conspiracy theories

Jews blamed for string of European wildfires in latest wave of antisemitic conspiracy theories spreading on social media.

By World Israel News Staff

Antisemitic conspiracy theories falsely blaming Jews for wildfires in several European countries have gained significant traction on social media, according to online hate-monitoring group CyberWell.

The nonprofit said it alerted X after identifying similar claims connected to recent wildfires in Norway, France and Spain. Posts in English, French and Spanish alleged without evidence that Jews had deliberately started the fires or arranged them for political or financial gain.

CyberWell, which works with Meta, TikTok and YouTube to combat online antisemitism, said the claims were part of a recurring pattern in which breaking news and major crises are used to spread hatred against Jews.

The organization said one post related to the Norway wildfires received more than 2 million views on X, helping turn an isolated conspiracy theory into a broader wave of antisemitic content. Another post concerning the fires in Spain reached more than 69,100 users.

As the allegations spread, some posts incorporated dehumanizing language, calls to expel Jews and antisemitic imagery, including the “Happy Merchant” caricature, CyberWell said.

“The same scapegoating stories, once popular in Nazi propaganda during the Third Reich, now trend on every major social media platform after a crisis,” CyberWell founder and CEO Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor said. “Any major event can become a vehicle for blaming Jews online.”

“Whether the story involves a wildfire, a disease outbreak, a shooting, or another international crisis, we repeatedly see the same conspiracy theories emerge within hours,” she added. “The details change but the underlying message does not: Jews are maliciously portrayed as secretly orchestrating disasters or profiting from human suffering.”

CyberWell said it had documented similar conspiracy theories following the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires and wildfires in Patagonia earlier this year. It also identified comparable antisemitic narratives following the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting and the hantavirus outbreak.

According to the organization, the posts draw on longstanding antisemitic tropes portraying Jews as secretly controlling events, causing disasters or benefiting from the suffering of others.

CyberWell said the claims fall within antisemitic conspiracy frameworks recognized by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism, including collective accusations against Jews and allegations of hidden Jewish control.

“Contextual expertise and sustained partnerships with civil society organizations are crucial for any digital platform or AI company that wants to take safety and tech governance seriously,” Cohen Montemayor said.

She urged online platforms to recognize event-driven anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and limit their spread before they become widely accepted.

“The last few years have been marked by multiple incidents in which unfounded conspiracies and misinformation led to targeted violence against Jewish communities around the world,” she said. “The writing is already on the wall, and it is inscribed in blood.”

CyberWell called on social media companies to improve systems for detecting antisemitic conspiracy theories connected to breaking news, close gaps in their hate-speech policies and enforce existing rules consistently.