CyberWell has identified scores of social media posts blaming Jews and Israel for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, as the 25th anniversary of the attacks approaches.
The organization, which partners with Meta, TikTok, and YouTube on digital compliance solutions for hateful content, said the posts appeared across Meta platforms, Reddit, TikTok, and X.
According to CyberWell, the posts reflect a form of online antisemitism it has tracked in recent years in which Jews are portrayed as secretly responsible for major world events, tragedies, and social problems.
CyberWell said it has documented similar narratives surrounding a series of major events, including the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, the 2025 Minneapolis shooting, the hantavirus outbreak, the migrant crisis in Ceuta, and wildfires in Europe, Los Angeles, and Argentina.
In each case, the organization said, antisemitic conspiracy theories falsely accused Jews of causing, orchestrating, or profiting from events with which they had no connection.
CyberWell noted that while many such conspiracy theories surge following a particular event and subsequently decline, antisemitic claims surrounding 9/11 have persisted for decades and continue to circulate throughout the year.
According to the organization, 9/11 has also become a reference point for newer antisemitic conspiracy theories, with users citing the attacks as purported evidence that Jews were responsible for previous crises and therefore responsible for subsequent events.
Among the posts identified by CyberWell were claims that Jews planned the September 11 attacks, had advance knowledge of them, or secretly controlled the events. Some posts used a juice box emoji as a coded reference to Jews, based on the phonetic similarity between the words "juice" and "Jews."
Others combined images of the attacks with the antisemitic "Happy Merchant" caricature in an attempt to evade automated moderation systems. CyberWell also identified posts targeting individual Jews with accusations that they were involved in the attacks, as well as posts containing antisemitic slurs.
The organization said posts also revived the longstanding "Dancing Israelis" conspiracy theory, falsely alleging that Israeli men seen near the World Trade Center had advance knowledge of, celebrated, or participated in the attacks.
Other posts referred to Jewish businessman and World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein, falsely claiming that his absence from the buildings on the morning of September 11 indicated that he had advance knowledge of the attacks or benefited from them.
CyberWell said the narratives draw on longstanding antisemitic tropes depicting Jews as a secretive and powerful group capable of orchestrating major events for political or financial gain.
"September 11th was a horrific terrorist attack on a global scale against the entire free world. According to U.S. State Department figures, an estimated 200 to 400 Jews died at the World Trade Center, including five Israelis-meaning Jews accounted for roughly 10% of the victims," CyberWell CEO and Founder Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor said.
"Those trafficking in conspiratorial hatred online around the 25th anniversary of September 11 undermine the true lessons of this tragic event and tarnish the memory of its victims and the brave first responders who risked their lives to save others."
Cohen Montemayor warned that the conspiracy theories continue to receive widespread exposure online.
"The outrageous and false conspiracy blaming Jews and Israel for the 9/11 attacks continues to spread widely online, amplified by engagement algorithms and, in part, by a lack of effective platform policies to address it," she said.
"CyberWell has recently tracked significant increases in scapegoating of Jews for major world tragedies, yet very few platforms directly address this form of hatred in their Trust & Safety policies."
She also warned of the potential implications for artificial intelligence systems. "As AI and LLMs increasingly rely on social media data for training and as a source of knowledge, the risk of antisemitic conspiracies and bias being absorbed and reproduced as fact increases."
Cohen Montemayor further warned that antisemitic conspiracy theories could have broader security implications.
"On the anniversary of 9/11, we must keep national security top of mind," she said. "Foreign state actors are backing and amplifying wild antisemitic conspiracy theories that scapegoat Jews in order to erode social cohesion and security in the West."
"As major social media platforms increasingly automate content moderation with AI, expert partners who can recognize how antisemitism evolves through coded content and new forms of scapegoating are increasingly vital to effective enforcement against conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns designed to destabilize societies and sow hatred."