February 24, 2026
STAY INFORMED – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS TO CONSIDER – STORIES MAKING NEWS
As the U.S. military masses its largest military presence in the Middle East in more than 20 years, Iran is waging a parallel information war aimed at destabilizing Western societies and legitimizing violence against not only America, but against Israel and Jews worldwide. Iran is using propaganda as digital missiles across traditional and social media. Iranian state TV aired an AI simulation of its military sinking the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.
Social media feeds and AI systems have made it easier than ever for false narratives to spread faster than facts – often with no cost to those spreading them. Disinformation no longer operates only on the fringes – it is deliberately amplified by terror groups, hostile countries, organizations and influencers peddling power and profit over facts. Ultimately, lies can shift public opinion and affect national policy.
Iran: A Coordinated Disinformation Threat
American embassy staffers in Lebanon are being evacuated and Israel is on high alert for potential Iranian strikes against the Jewish state.
In Latin America, the Islamic Republic’s HispanTV “elevates the Iranian regime as a moral and strategic alternative to Western democracies, positioning Tehran as the defender of truth and justice,” according to a new ADL report.
The report describes how Iran operates a sophisticated influence network in Spanish – targeting an audience far beyond the Middle East. Iran’s TV channel also glorified terrorist organizations that target the U.S. and Israel, celebrated the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, slaughter of more than 1,200 innocent men, women and children – including 46 Americans – and recycled common anti-Jewish conspiracy theories.
Additional reporting by Fuente Latina documents how Iranian agents have infiltrated countries in South America and how Venezuela is a narco-terror state that supports Iran and its proxy terror groups Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Iran uses “access diplomacy” to filter its narrative – granting select Western activists and influencers tightly controlled entry and the “red carpet” experience that produces state-friendly content for foreign audiences. There is no free press in Iran, only a “state-controlled narrative.”
American activist Calla Walsh – co-founder of Palestine Action U.S. – echoed Iranian state propaganda in a recent visit to an Iranian military exhibition: “It’s incredibly powerful to stand amongst the missiles and drones that are resisting U.S. imperialism and Zionism.”
Qatar: Laundering Influence Through Media
The Washington Free Beacon recently published excerpts of Al Jazeera’s style guide that bans reporters from calling Islamic State (ISIS) and Hamas “terrorist” organizations and prevents journalists from using other terms. The media organization – which operates an American news channel and maintains a massive social media presence – was founded and funded by the Qatari government.
The small but very wealthy Gulf monarchy publicly portrays itself as a moderate partner and global mediator while simultaneously funding organizations and media outlets that consistently undermine Western interests. Al Jazeera routinely promotes anti-American and anti-Israel propaganda.
Hamas: Manufacturing Victimhood Through Disinformation
The Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas unleashes disinformation as a core military and political strategy – especially to shape its perception of the Gaza War. The terror organization routinely fabricated or manipulated casualty figures and other information that was then fed to charities, reporters and international organizations that often echoed its claims with little to no scrutiny. A Hamas leader recently blamed Israel for the massacre at the Oct. 7 Nova music festival – despite Hamas terrorists recording video of themselves perpetrating the attacks.
Hamas is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, an international Islamist terror group that builds influence through political activity, news organizations and, increasingly, social media networks. The Muslim Brotherhood launched a digital strategy targeting Gen Z youth in Arab countries and Europe. Like past authoritarian movements, these campaigns downplay religion in favor of anti-Western themes, victimhood and social justice language. Recent reports also have “revealed how pro-Palestinian networks exploit social media and younger audiences to achieve diplomatic victories.”
There also is a strong connection between Qatar, Al Jazeera and Hamas. An expert on Qatar described how Al Jazeera and Qatari government officials helped spread the famine libel. He also explained how “Qatari media knew which content was suitable for the institutional network of Al Jazeera, and those suitable for more subversive platforms, such as AJ+, the Middle East Eye website or Qatari-financed influencers.” Iran also used its broadcast partners controlled by its proxy groups in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.
Tucker Carlson: Convergence of Extremes
The same narratives promoted by Iran, Qatar and Hamas are increasingly echoed by Western influencers with massive audiences. Tucker Carlson – often ridiculed as “Qatarlson” – visited Qatar twice in 2025, interviewed its prime minister and announced he was buying a home there. Carlson has routinely amplified false claims questioning if Jews are a “real people” and are foreign to the Middle East – including in a recent interview at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
Carlson used his interview to repeat long-standing antisemitic libels used to deny the Jewish people’s historical and ancestral connection to the Land of Israel – and to delegitimize Jewish self-determination itself, also known as Zionism.
Amb. Huckabee pushed back against this bogus claim: “We know from genetics and rich volumes of written literature that the Jews of today can trace their lineage back thousands of years to the Israel and the Jewish people of the Bible.”
Carlson and other major influencers, including Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes – along with pro-Palestinian activists – also have promoted false narratives about Christians in Israel and the Middle East. They falsely claimed that the number of Christians living in Israel is decreasing and that they do not have equal rights. Israeli Ambassador George Deek responded to Carlson’s interview:
Disinformation succeeds when it goes unquestioned. Everyone has a role in stopping it.
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This content is developed by The Focus Project in partnership with MERCAZ USA. The Focus Project distributes weekly news and talking points on timely issues concerning Israel and the Jewish people, including antisemitism, anti-Zionism and the delegitimization of Israel. It represents a consensus view across a spectrum of major American Jewish organizations. MERCAZ USA recognizes and respects the diversity of views on these issues among its readers and the community at large.