Antisemitic Flydubai Conspiracy Claims Draw Nearly 86 Million Views in Four Days

Antisemitic conspiracy theories accusing Israel or Jews of staging the attempted hijacking of a Tel Aviv-bound Flydubai flight spread rapidly across social media after the attack, according to new research.

The Combat Antisemitism Movement’s Antisemitism Research Center said the first “false flag” accusation appeared on X just 67 minutes after Flight FZ1073 transmitted its initial emergency distress signal on September 30.

The organization initially identified 2,963 posts on X during a 12-hour monitoring period that blamed Israel, Mossad, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Zionists or Jews for the incident. Of 4,136 posts containing the phrase “false flag,” about 72% promoted one of those conspiracy narratives.

The claims expanded significantly over the following days.

In an update released Sunday, researchers said 285 posts from influential accounts on X and Instagram promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories had accumulated 85.9 million views within four days of the attack.

Some posts claimed Netanyahu or Israeli intelligence orchestrated the incident to generate international sympathy for Israel or divert attention from the war in Gaza. Others accused Israel of fabricating the attack entirely. JTA and The Jerusalem Post documented similar claims spreading across several major social media platforms.

The conspiracy theories began circulating while details of the attack were still emerging.

Authorities say the Omani co-pilot of Flight FZ1073 attacked the captain during the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight and attempted to take control of the aircraft. Passengers and crew members subdued him, allowing the plane to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Investigations into the attacker’s background and possible extremist connections remain underway.

The Antisemitism Research Center said the speed of the online reaction showed that existing antisemitic narratives were being applied to breaking news events rather than developing only after facts became available.

Researchers are now conducting a broader analysis of accounts spreading antisemitic and anti-Western content across X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok.