Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and the war on Chabad

Wars are not fought only with battalions, warships and bombs. They are also fought in the battle for public opinion.

In recent weeks, as debate has intensified online about the United States involvement in the conflict with Iran, conspiracy theories have painted the Orthodox Jewish movement Chabad-Lubavitch as a dangerous force somehow connected to the war.

Among the most prominent voices amplifying those claims are conservative commentator Candace Owens and media personality Tucker Carlson, both of whom reach enormous audiences online.

In the online world, influencers, podcasters and political commentators now command audiences comparable to major news outlets, and their narratives can travel just as fast.

On February 6, Carlson, whose YouTube channel has more than 5.33 million subscribers, released an episode that has since attracted around 1.6 million views, where he said:

“This is a religious war. How did all these guys wind up wearing [third temple] patches suggesting the point of this war was the destruction of one of the holiest places in Islam and the rebuilding of the temple through, in part, the efforts of a group called Chabad.”

“Chabad has been pushing for the reconstruction of the Third Temple. And what are the implications: global religious war. That’s worse than any virus. And more deadly.”

On the same day, Owens posted a message to her 7.6 million followers on X warning them to “be aware” of nearby Chabad centres.

In the post, she claimed the movement was “digging tunnels in New York and in cities all across America”, and “taking over entire towns in New Jersey”. She described Chabad as a “radical sect of mystic occultists that follow the idea of a war messiah and they harm kids”.