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(https://rumcdn.geoedge.be/f7ae3efe-f9e8-44be-8cf9-3b564afd5f4b/grumi-ip.js)  (https://widgets.outbrain.com/outbrain.js)  (https://btloader.com/tag?o=5119785225420800&upapi=true)  (https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-T4BJGTM)   (../../manifest.json)  (../../../images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-16.png)  (../../../images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-32.png)  (../../../images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-192.png)  (https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-180.png)  (https://fonts.gstatic.com)  (https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js)  Conspiracies spread blaming Israel for staging flydubai incident | The Jerusalem Post      (article-910349.html)                     (Jerusalem Post) (https://www.jpost.com/) (The Jerusalem Post - Israel News) (The Jerusalem Post - Israel News)    (CONFERENCES) (https://www.jpost.com/conferences) CONFERENCES  (ISRAEL NEWS) (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news) ISRAEL NEWS  (WORLD NEWS) (https://www.jpost.com/international) WORLD NEWS  (MIDDLE EAST) (https://www.jpost.com/middle-east) MIDDLE EAST  (BUSINESS & INNOVATION) (https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation) BUSINESS & INNOVATION  (DEFENSE & TECH) (https://defense-and-tech.jpost.com/) DEFENSE & TECH  (OPINION) (https://www.jpost.com/opinion) OPINION  (JP STORE) (https://store.jpost.com/) JP STORE   (https://www.jpost.com/PayWalllogin) Login    (Search) ()           (https://www.jpost.com/PayWalllogin) Login (https://payments.jpost.com/paywall/paywallpersonaldetails) Subscribe    (https://www.jpost.com/magazineprint/digitallibrary) JPOST DIGITAL LIBRARY  (https://www.jpost.com/) HOME PAGE  (https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report) THE JERUSALEM REPORT  (https://defense-and-tech.jpost.com/) DEFENSE & TECH  (https://www.jpost.com/tags/education) JPOST HIGHER EDUCATION  (https://www.jpost.com/opinion) OPINION  BUSINESS & INNOVATION      (https://realestate.jpost.com/) REAL ESTATE LISTINGS  (https://www.jpost.com/aliyah) ALIYAH  (https://www.jpost.com/conferences) JERUSALEM POST CONFERENCE  PREMIUM      (https://store.jpost.com/) JP STORE  Categories  ISRAEL NEWS      WORLD NEWS      MIDDLE EAST      (https://www.jpost.com/american-politics) US POLITICS  DIASPORA      (https://www.jpost.com/opinion) OPINION  PODCAST      JUDAISM      (https://www.jpost.com/kabbalah) KABBALAH  CHRISTIAN WORLD      HEALTH & WELLNESS      (https://www.jpost.com/science) SCIENCE  (https://www.jpost.com/law) LAW  ARCHAEOLOGY      (https://www.jpost.com/omg) OMG  (https://www.jpost.com/environment-and-climate-change) ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE  (https://www.jpost.com/food-recipes) FOOD & RECIPES  (https://www.jpost.com/history) HISTORY   (https://www.jpost.com/special-content) SPONSORED CONTENT  (https://www.jpost.com/advertise) ADVERTISE WITH US  (https://www.jpost.com/landedpages/termsofservice.aspx) TERMS OF USE  (https://www.jpost.com/landedpages/privacypolicy.aspx) PRIVACY POLICY  (https://www.jpost.com/contactus) CONTACT US  (https://www.jpost.com/customer-service/cancel-subscription) CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION  (https://www.jpost.com/customer-service) CUSTOMER SERVICE  (https://www.jpost.com/landedpages/aboutus.aspx) ABOUT US       (https://www.jpost.com/) Jerusalem Post /  (https://www.jpost.com/diaspora) Diaspora /  (https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism) Antisemitism   Watchdogs uncovered conspiracy theories blaming Israel for staging flydubai incident Within an hour of the attempted hijacking of a flydubai headed for Tel Aviv, conspiracy theories began circulating online positing that Netanyahu and the Mossad staged the incident.  (Share)         (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=https://www.jpost.com/)      Follow us on Google     (A flydubai plane carrying passengers from flight FZ1073 arrives at Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, after a suspected terror attack aboard their original flight from Dubai to Israel forced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, September 30, 2026.) (A flydubai plane carrying passengers from flight FZ1073 arrives at Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, after a suspected terror attack aboard their original flight from Dubai to Israel forced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, September 30, 2026.)   A flydubai plane carrying passengers from flight FZ1073 arrives at Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, after a suspected terror attack aboard their original flight from Dubai to Israel forced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, September 30, 2026. (photo credit: YOSSI ALONI/FLASH90 )    By (https://www.jpost.com/author/alex-carson) ALEX CARSON    OCTOBER 1, 2026 17:23  Updated:  OCTOBER 1, 2026 22:33   Online conspiracy theories accusing Israel of orchestrating a false-flag operation began circulating on social media just over an hour after an (https://www.jpost.com/international/article-910155) attempted terrorist attack aboard an Israel-bound flydubai flight on Wednesday, according to antisemitism watchdogs.  The incident began at 1:21 a.m. ET, when a Boeing 737 MAX 8 flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 174 passengers transmitted emergency distress signals after the copilot stabbed the captain and attempted to crash the aircraft. Passengers and crew intervened to subdue the attacker before the plane diverted safely to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.   The first post declaring the event an Israeli false flag appeared on X/Twitter 67 minutes after the emergency signal, the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and (https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-910342) Antisemitism Research Center (ARC) reported.  “What’s striking here isn’t just the volume – it’s the speed,” ARC research associate Oliver Marks said. “Sixty-seven minutes is all it took for the near-downing of a commercial airliner by a terrorist pilot to become fodder for antisemitic conspiracy theorists across the globe.  “It’s clear this isn’t a narrative that forms in response to an incident. Rather, it’s part of a script that already exists, sitting ready for use whenever opportunities arise.”   (screenshot from combat antisemitism report covering conspiracy theories posted within an hour of flydubai incident. 2026)  screenshot from combat antisemitism report covering conspiracy theories posted within an hour of flydubai incident. 2026 (credit: screenshot)    Conspiracies spread online that Netanyahu staged the flydubai incident   The ARC study tracked 4,136 posts containing the phrase “false flag” over a 12-hour monitoring period. It identified 2,963 hostile posts that blamed Israel, the Mossad, (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-910266) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , Zionists, or Jews for the incident.  Conspiracy content escalated rapidly after the initial post, reaching 100 posts by 3:07 a.m. ET, 500 posts by 5:42 a.m. ET, 1,000 posts by 7:35 a.m. ET, and 2,000 posts by 9:36 a.m. ET, with volume continuing to rise until collection ended at 10:43 a.m. ET.  About 72% of all tracked false-flag posts promoted these conspiracy theories, rising to 82% in the final hour. Peak hourly volume occurred between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, recording 623 posts, the report said.   The report cited social-media posts that said Netanyahu had staged the event to cancel the election or distract from criminal charges, alongside posts explicitly drawing comparisons to 9/11 and claiming the incident was an Israeli false-flag operation akin to the (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-910334) October 7 massacre.  The ARC study said: “The pattern mirrors the influence operations that hostile states, Russia foremost among them, use to destabilize Western societies: sowing social division, exploiting breaking news events, and portraying Israel and Jews as the ‘hidden hand’ behind them.”   CyberWell founder and CEO Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor said: “Today’s horrific attack aboard a flydubai flight from the UAE to Israel is an ugly reminder of how quickly online antisemitism can distort the facts of an unfolding event. After a copilot allegedly stabbed the second pilot and attempted to take control of the aircraft, Israeli passengers helped restrain him and keep the injured pilot alive before the plane diverted safely to Saudi Arabia.”  “As news of the incident spread, ‘false flag’ claims quickly emerged on social media, alleging that Israelis had hijacked the plane or staged the attack,” he said. “These claims reflect a broader pattern of conspiratorial self-victimization, an antisemitic conspiracy that falsely accuses Jews or Israelis of orchestrating attacks against themselves to manipulate public opinion. It is a contemporary expression of Jew-hatred and a form of misinformation aimed at spreading hatred, distrust and disgust toward Jews.”  “Platforms and LLMs [large language models, i.e., artificial-intelligence programs] cannot rely on poisoned knowledge sources or automated systems that fail to recognize these rapidly evolving forms of antisemitic conspiracy,” he added. “They need real-time expertise from organizations like CyberWell that can identify emerging narratives, understand the context behind them, and help platforms respond effectively.”  “‘False flag’ conspiracy theories are particularly corrosive because they do more than deny an attack. They recast victims as perpetrators and can perpetuate violence by fueling hatred and encouraging further violence against Jews,” Cohen Montemayor said.  Read more about Combat Antisemitism Movement's report (https://combatantisemitism.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/%E2%80%98False-Flag-Claims-Within-an-Hour_-Antisemitic-Conspiracy-Theories-Flourish-After-FlyDubai-Terror-Attack.pdf) here .      See more on (https://www.jpost.com/tags/israel) Israel |  (https://www.jpost.com/tags/saudi-arabia) Saudi Arabia |  (https://www.jpost.com/tags/dubai) Dubai |  (https://www.jpost.com/tags/antisemitism) antisemitism |  (https://www.jpost.com/tags/conspiracy-theories) conspiracy theories |  (https://www.jpost.com/tags/flydubai-attempted-hijacking) Flydubai attempted hijacking    (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=https://www.jpost.com/)      Follow us on Google           Related Articles (https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-910392) (Potential 2028 presidential candidate, California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an event held by the state Democratic Party at the Clubhouse at King's Grant in Summerville, South Carolina, Sept. 3, 2026.) 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