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By: Fern Sidman

In an age where information travels faster than armies and narratives often shape geopolitics as decisively as missiles, analysts warn that a quieter but equally consequential conflict is unfolding across digital platforms and media ecosystems. This conflict—described by experts as “information warfare”—has increasingly relied on antisemitic narratives deployed by hostile regimes to destabilize democratic societies and erode Western alliances.

A recent series of expert briefings and investigative reports has shed new light on how Iran and Russia have systematically cultivated propaganda networks that spread conspiracy theories, distort historical facts, and amplify hostility toward Jews and Israel as part of a broader campaign against Western institutions.

According to a report on Wednesday in The Algemeiner, analysts say the manipulation of antisemitism is not merely incidental rhetoric but a calculated strategic tool—one that has been refined for decades and is now operating on a global scale through digital platforms, media outlets, and even artificial intelligence systems.

The findings were discussed during a recent online briefing hosted by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, where researchers and media analysts described a sophisticated propaganda apparatus built by authoritarian regimes to influence public opinion and political discourse in democratic societies.

Opening the briefing, Vlad Khaykin, executive vice president of social impact and partnerships at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, framed the issue in stark terms. “There is the kinetic battlefield, of course,” Khaykin said, “but there’s also the information battlefield—the war for hearts and minds.”

As reported by The Algemeiner, Khaykin emphasized that modern conflicts are fought not only with tanks and missiles but with narratives and persuasion. “Modern wars are fought not only with missiles, but with memes,” he warned.

In Khaykin’s assessment, Iran has spent decades constructing a global propaganda architecture designed precisely for moments of geopolitical confrontation such as the current conflict involving the Islamic Republic. “The Iranian regime and the networks aligned with it across Russia, China, and various proxy movements have spent decades building a global propaganda architecture designed for moments exactly like this,” Khaykin said.

These networks, analysts argue, are now being deployed to influence public perception of conflicts involving Israel and the West.

Among the experts participating in the briefing were Rachel Kantz Feder, a senior researcher at Tel Aviv University’s Alliance Center for Iranian Studies, and Jacki Alexander, president and CEO of the media watchdog organization Honest Reporting. Both researchers described how Tehran has developed an extensive ecosystem of propaganda tools aimed at shaping international discourse.

According to The Algemeiner report, Kantz Feder defined information warfare as the “strategic use of information and communications to influence perceptions and decision-making systems.” This can include disinformation campaigns, cyber operations, and coordinated messaging through sympathetic influencers and media outlets. “I think that the Iranian regime is seeing real yields from it,” Kantz Feder said.

During the briefing—held as Israel remained under active Iranian attack—Kantz Feder was forced to briefly interrupt her presentation to seek shelter as sirens warned of incoming rockets and drones. The moment served as a stark reminder that the information war she was describing was unfolding alongside a real military conflict.

One of the most striking aspects of Iran’s propaganda strategy, according to researchers cited by The Algemeiner, is its ability to exploit ideological divisions within Western societies. Kantz Feder noted that Iranian operatives and affiliated networks have cultivated relationships with figures on both the far right and the far left of the political spectrum. “We find that actually Iran started to forge ties with American figures from the far right and far left as well already by the end of the 1990s,” she explained.

This strategy allows Iranian narratives to penetrate diverse audiences that might otherwise have little in common politically. By exploiting polarization within Western societies, Tehran’s information campaigns can achieve broader reach and influence.

Iran’s propaganda efforts have not been limited to political messaging alone. According to the information provided in The Algemeiner report, analysts say the regime has also used cultural diplomacy as a vehicle for influence.

One example cited by Kantz Feder involved the international success of Iranian filmmakers in the 1990s. Tehran leveraged this success by hosting international film festivals and cultivating relationships with Western cultural institutions, including Hollywood. While cultural exchange can often be benign, researchers say such initiatives also served to advance narratives favorable to the regime’s ideological goals.

Another key component of Iran’s strategy involves the amplification of narratives through online influencers and alternative media platforms. As was noted in The Algemeiner report, Jacki Alexander of Honest Reporting explained how networks of commentators and podcasters have played a significant role in spreading misinformation about Israel.

Alexander noted that some influencers who previously promoted accusations that Israel intentionally targeted civilians during conflicts in Gaza have now shifted similar rhetoric toward the current confrontation with Iran. “These networks all work together to amplify each other,” Alexander said. “Each of their posts will get millions of views.”

She added that once these narratives gain traction online, they frequently migrate into the broader media ecosystem, including popular podcasts and commentary platforms.

Among the figures mentioned were prominent commentators Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, both of whom have drawn criticism for statements about Israel that critics say veer into antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of the propaganda campaign described by analysts is what Alexander referred to as the “poisoning of information.”

According to The Algemeiner report, she warned that misinformation is increasingly infiltrating the very sources from which digital systems—including artificial intelligence tools—draw their data. “Sixty-one percent of adults worldwide are getting information increasingly from AI,” Alexander said, citing recent data. Of those users, 36 percent rely on AI systems weekly.

Because AI tools often draw information from large databases and online platforms such as Wikipedia, manipulating those sources can have cascading effects on how information is presented to millions of users. Alexander revealed that Iran has reportedly funded groups of editors tasked with altering information on Wikipedia to insert propaganda narratives.

According to her analysis cited by The Algemeiner, these edits can introduce content ranging from Holocaust denial to historical distortions that erase Jewish connections to the land of Israel. When AI systems subsequently access those sources, they may produce answers that unknowingly reproduce the manipulated narratives. “You’re going to get a garbage answer,” Alexander warned.

Another troubling development highlighted by Kantz Feder involves changes in the ideological messaging of the Iranian regime. Historically, Tehran’s official rhetoric attempted to distinguish between Zionism as a political movement and Judaism as a religion.

However, according to research cited by The Algemeiner, that distinction has increasingly eroded in recent years. “The distinction between Zionists as an enemy and Jews as the enemy of Iran is starting to erode,” Kantz Feder said. Analysts believe this shift reflects the regime’s desire to mobilize broader ideological hostility and consolidate support among extremist networks.

One of the most disturbing manifestations of this propaganda campaign has been the regime’s promotion of Holocaust denial.

As The Algemeiner noted in its coverage, Iran hosted a notorious conference in 2006 titled “Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision.” The event brought together a collection of Holocaust deniers and extremist figures, including former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and French Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson. Participants used the conference to promote conspiracy theories and attack Israel’s legitimacy.

According to Kantz Feder, antisemitism—including Holocaust denial—serves as an ideological “entry point” that connects disparate extremist movements. It functions as what she described as “the glue” binding together various ideological networks.

While Iran’s propaganda campaigns have received growing attention, researchers say Russia’s role in spreading antisemitic narratives is equally significant.

A new report by the Gino Germani Institute for Social Sciences and Strategic Studies, cited by The Algemeiner, traces the evolution of Russian disinformation strategies from the era of the tsars through the Soviet Union and into the modern Kremlin under Vladimir Putin. The 141-page study, authored by researcher Massimiliano Di Pasquale, documents how antisemitic conspiracy theories have been used repeatedly by Russian authorities as tools of geopolitical influence.

Among the narratives highlighted in the report are the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a fabricated document created in Tsarist Russia that purported to reveal a Jewish plot for world domination. Despite being widely debunked, the text continues to circulate in extremist circles worldwide.

The Algemeiner report indicated that Di Pasquale’s research demonstrates how these narratives have been repurposed in modern “cognitive warfare” campaigns designed to weaken democratic institutions.

The report also details how Soviet intelligence agencies developed extensive propaganda operations targeting Israel and the Jewish diaspora. During the Cold War, particularly between 1967 and 1982, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev oversaw a massive propaganda campaign portraying Zionism as a form of racism and imperialism. As The Algemeiner report noted, this period saw the spread of narratives that continue to resonate today.

These included claims that Zionist organizations operated global espionage networks, Israel represented a form of colonial oppression, Jews collaborated with Nazi Germany and Israel’s policies constituted a reversal of the Holocaust.

The strategy reached its international apex in 1975, when the United Nations passed Resolution 3379, declaring that “Zionism is racism.” Although the resolution was later repealed in 1991, analysts say its ideological legacy persists.

According to the report cited by The Algemeiner, much of the Soviet Union’s propaganda strategy was shaped by Yuri Andropov, the longtime head of the KGB who later became Soviet leader.

Ion Mihai Pacepa, the highest-ranking intelligence officer ever to defect from the Soviet bloc, once described Andropov as “the father of a new era of disinformation.” Under his leadership, antisemitic narratives were deployed as a strategic weapon against both Israel and the United States.

These campaigns helped fuel anti-Western sentiment throughout the Middle East and beyond.

The findings presented by researchers suggest that the convergence of Iranian and Russian propaganda efforts has created a powerful ecosystem of disinformation capable of influencing public opinion on a global scale.

As The Algemeiner emphasized in its reporting, the danger lies not merely in the existence of propaganda but in its ability to shape perceptions within democratic societies. In an era where digital platforms allow narratives to spread instantly across borders, the information battlefield has become as consequential as any physical front.

The challenge facing democratic institutions, analysts say, is how to counter these campaigns without compromising the openness that defines free societies. For Khaykin and his colleagues, the stakes could not be clearer. The war for hearts and minds, they argue, may ultimately determine the outcome of the broader geopolitical struggle between authoritarian regimes and democratic nations. And in that battle, the weaponization of antisemitism remains one of the most insidious tools in the arsenal of those seeking to undermine the West.