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By Michele Calamaio and Giulia Pozzi
What happened: False claims spread by anti-Israel social media accounts have moved beyond the fighting and destruction in Gaza to take aim at Israeli citizens more personally. Since March 2025, NewsGuard has identified eight such claims targeting Israelis citizens abroad, built around two recurring narratives: fabrications about foreign travel bans and deportations imposed on Israelis and about misconduct by Israeli tourists.
The claims have circulated widely on X, often originating from “verified” accounts — meaning that users pay a fee to get a blue check — that have collectively gained more than 16 million views as of Jan. 19, 2026. The pace of such claims has been accelerating: Of the eight false narratives identified by NewsGuard, five originated since December 2025.
Context: Unlike the spate of false narratives that targeted Israel in connection with the war in Gaza, these claims appear designed to exaggerate Israel’s diplomatic and social isolation and to paint Israelis citizens as a foreign menace.
A closer look: Among the recent false claims identified by NewsGuard:...
(WXYZ) — The owner of a Troy facility who is charged in connection with a 5-year-old boy who died in a hyperbaric chamber explosion is now facing health care fraud charges. Tamela Peterson, 59, of...