103 Million Views in 72 Hours: How X Turned the Spain-Morocco Border Crisis into an Antisemitic Conspiracy Theory
X, owned by Elon Musk, has become a hotbed for antisemitic conspiracy theories following the migrant crisis in Ceuta. An analysis by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) reveals that such content reached over 100 million users in just 72 hours.
X (formerly Twitter), owned by Elon Musk, turned the crisis on the Spain-Morocco border into an antisemitic conspiracy theory, which was exposed to more than 100 million users within just 72 hours, according to an analysis published Sunday by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM). The findings once again expose the virality of antisemitic content on social media, and the inability or unwillingness of X to act against such content.
On Thursday, between 50,000 and 60,000 migrants crossed the border into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on the border with Morocco. The trigger for the crossing was a rumor on social media about the opening of the border, set against the backdrop of Spain-Morocco relations and long-standing pressure on the European immigration and asylum system. In the days following the incident, almost all those who crossed returned to Morocco, except for a few hundred refugees from war-torn African countries hoping to receive political asylum.
However, in certain parts of X, a conspiratorial and antisemitic narrative spread within hours, claiming that the State of Israel and the Jewish people were behind the event, working to destabilize Europe. A CAM analysis identified 173 high-impact posts published in the 72 hours after the incident by 119 prominent influencer accounts. These posts attracted 103.1 million views, 1.9 million likes, and 368.4 thousand shares.
In one prominent post, an account named Forbidden HQ featured a picture of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the form of a boat, with a stream of migrants "spilling" from his mouth to the shores of Ceuta—a post that received 5.3 million views. Another post, by user Dan Bilzerian, claimed that after Spain condemned Israel, Netanyahu said "Spain will pay the ultimate price" (a statement the Prime Minister never made), implying this was Israel's revenge. The post recorded 2.7 million views.
According to CAM CEO Sacha Roytman, the crisis proves that antisemitism has become the automatic explanation mechanism for every extreme event. "When we see the far-right, the far-left, and radical Islam speaking in exactly the same conspiratorial language—it is clear that antisemitism is the glue that connects the extremists," he said. "Platforms must stop incentivizing hatred algorithmically and act immediately. This is not a story about a few bad actors. This is a story about a platform that rewards the most inflammatory explanations that exist, and on X, the explanation is a Jewish conspiracy."
