Antisemitic conspiracies about French protests spread across social media – watchdog

A report by the Combat Antisemitism Movement documents 1,384 antisemitic posts on X during French riots, blaming Jews and Israel for the unrest. Seven posts called for violence against Jews. French authorities imposed curfews as the government scheduled meetings with social media platforms.

A new report by the Combat Antisemitism Movement's Antisemitism Research Center documents a wave of antisemitic narratives spreading on social media during the nationwide civil unrest in France. The report, published Sunday, found 1,384 posts from 816 unique accounts on X over two days, October 16-18, as anti-government rioters clashed with police and vandalized buildings, including a synagogue. The posts blamed Jews, Israel, the Mossad spy agency, Zionists, and the Rothschild family for orchestrating the crisis, and invoked the white nationalist Great Replacement conspiracy theory. Seven posts called for violence against Jews, including expulsion and extermination. According to CAM, 30% of the posts came from Islamist accounts, 21% from far-right and white nationalist accounts, 14% from conspiracy theory-focused accounts, and 4% from far-left accounts; 31% had no clear affiliation. The majority of posts were in English (69%), with 21% in French. The article notes that French cities saw a calmer night due to partial curfews, and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said new curfews would continue where needed. The government scheduled emergency meetings with social media platforms and political parties.