Study finds strong link between conspiracy beliefs, antisemitism and anti-Israel attitudes

Phys · 🇺🇸 public United States · Aug 05, 2026 · 778 words · By Carrie Stetler

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What to know about Study finds strong link between conspiracy beliefs, antisemitism and anti-Israel attitudes

The article reports on research from Rutgers University psychologist Kent Harber regarding the correlation between antisemitism, conspiracy theories, and anti-Israel attitudes. The study suggests that conspiracy beliefs often act as a bridge between classic antisemitism and hostility toward Israel, while noting that not all criticism of Israel is antisemitic.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 13

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Study finds strong link between conspiracy beliefs, antisemitism and anti-Israel attitudes Gaby Clark Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Chief Editor New research from Rutgers University–Newark psychologist Kent Harber reveals a strong connection between…

Why it matters

Published in American Psychologist, the three studies draw from more than 1,000 adults surveyed across the United States.

Common ground

Harber's study was prompted by a well-documented global rise in antisemitism since the early 2010s, accompanied by violent attacks against Jews in the U.S.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Study finds strong link between conspiracy beliefs, antisemitism and anti-Israel attitudes?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that antisemitism channeled through conspiracy beliefs about Israel and its supporters explained more than 55% of anti-Israel attitudes across all three studies?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-08-strong-link-conspiracy-beliefs-antisemitism.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 4

schedule Pending 3

check_circle Corroborated 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info Single Source 2

verified

Claim 1: “antisemitism channeled through conspiracy beliefs about Israel and its supporters explained more than 55% of anti-Israel attitudes across all three studies.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence contains general definitions of antisemitism and unrelated Wikipedia entries, but does not mention the specific statistical finding (55%) regarding Harber's studies.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI. Originally released on November 30, 2022, the product uses large language models—specifically generative pre-trained transf…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChatGPT

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Israeli apartheid is a system of institutionalized segregation and discrimination in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and to a lesser extent in Israel proper. This system is characterized …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_apartheid

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Antisemitism in the United States describes incidents of hatred, hostility, harm, prejudice or discrimination against people identifying as Jews, religiously, culturally and/or ethnically within the U…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_the_United_Sta…

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 2: “Harber, who co-authored the study with Thomas Malloy, Dominka Bulska and Valeria Villa”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided for this claim consists of links to Study.com and unrelated Wikipedia entries. There is no mention of Thomas Malloy, Dominka Bulska, or Valeria Villa as co-authors.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The King's Birthday Honours 1943 were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by people of the British Empire. They were published on 2 June 194…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1943_Birthday_Honours

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A Second Amendment sanctuary, also known as a gun sanctuary, is a state, county, or locality in the United States that has adopted laws or resolutions to prohibit or impede the enforcement of certain …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_sanctuary

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Need a Study.com Account? Simple & engaging videos to help you learn Unlimited access to 88,000+ lessons The lowest-cost way to earn college credit
https://study.com/academy/login.html

+ 2 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “New research from Rutgers University–Newark psychologist Kent Harber reveals a strong connection between conspiracy theories, antisemitic attitudes and hostility toward Israel.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources, including a Rutgers University-Newark official page and other news reports, confirm that psychologist Kent Harber's research found a strong connection between conspiracy theories, antisemitism, and hostility toward Israel.

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web search NEUTRAL — New research from Rutgers University–Newark psychologist Kent Harber reveals a strong connection between conspiracy theories, antisemitic attitudes and hostility toward Israel.
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-strong-link-conspiracy-beliefs…

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web search NEUTRAL — Conspiracy theories may serve as a bridge between antisemitism and hostility toward Israel, according to a new U.S. study that found a strong and consistent relationship between anti-Jewish attitudes,…
https://www.ynetnews.com/jewish-world/article/hjiaqctifg

+ 1 more evidence source

help

Claim 4: “The second measure involved the anti-Israel subscale of the Middle East Opinion Survey, developed by Harber”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm the use of an anti-Israel subscale of the Middle East Opinion Survey developed by Harber.

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Claim 5: “The first study tested participants on established measures of antisemitism, including statements drawn from the Selznick and Steinberg antisemitism scale, created in 1969.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results confirm that the study used the Selznick and Steinberg antisemitism scale created in 1969.

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web search NEUTRAL — In some surveys, researchers used an antisemitism scale developed by Gertrude Selznick and Stephen Steinberg in 1969, examining agreement with statements such as “Jews make too much of oppression” and…
https://www.ynetnews.com/jewish-world/article/hjiaqctifg

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web search NEUTRAL — Selznick and Steinberg then proceeded to locate anti-Semitism according to population patterns. Young people, they found, tended to be less prejudiced than their elders, native Americans less than for…
https://www.commentary.org/articles/lucy-dawidowicz/can-anti…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The first study tested participants on established measures of antisemitism, including statements drawn from the Selznick and Steinberg antisemitism scale, created in 1969.
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-strong-link-conspiracy-beliefs…

info

Claim 6: “Study subjects were chosen from throughout the U.S. and mirrored the nation's racial and ethnic demographics, as well as religious and political affiliations.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided for this claim consists of unrelated links to Study.com and does not mention the demographics of the study participants.

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web search NEUTRAL — Take online courses on Study.com that are fun and engaging. Pass exams to earn real college credit. Research schools and degrees to further your education.
https://study.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Master any subject with Studley AI. Trusted by more than 3 million top students. Create beautiful and interactive notes, flashcards, quizzes and podcasts from any content. Study smarter, not harder.
https://www.studley.ai/

travel_explore

info

Claim 7: “The average age ranged from 32 to 40.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided lists average ages for unrelated studies (21.7, 42, and a range of 23-73.2), but none correspond to Harber's study participants.

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web search NEUTRAL — Participants’ average age was 42 years, and about 71% of them were women. The ImPuls treatment consisted of supervised group meetings and 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise performed …
https://www.psypost.org/new-study-reveals-how-running-trains…

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web search NEUTRAL — 49 participants or less. Participants mean age ranged from 23 to 73.2 years of age. ...The sample sizes for these studies ranged from 11-492. Intervention duration ranged from 1-12 months; however, mo…
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Detailed-flow-of-study-p…

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web search NEUTRAL — The average age of the participants was 21.7 ± 2.5 years. To assess resiliency (ER), the Ego-Resiliency Scale (ER89-R12) by Block and Kremen was used in its Polish adaptation.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38413867/

verified

Claim 8: “Published in American Psychologist, the three studies draw from more than 1,000 adults surveyed across the United States.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of unrelated articles about loneliness, sycophancy, and juvenile offenders. No evidence was found confirming the specific details of Harber's study (three studies, 1,000+ adults, published in American Psychologist).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states and perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentati…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychologist

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Conservatism in the United States consists of right-leaning and right-wing ideological traditions that have collectively rivaled the liberal and progressive U.S. political traditions. Since the early …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism_in_the_United_Sta…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States does not have a unified national or federal educational system. Although there are more than fifty independent systems of education (one run by each state and territory, the Bureau o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_United_States

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 9: “Harber's team found that antisemitic beliefs measured at the start of the study predicted conspiracy beliefs four weeks later, and that the conspiracy beliefs, in turn, predicted anti-Israel attitudes four weeks after that.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm the specific longitudinal findings regarding the four-week prediction intervals.

schedule

Claim 10: “Kent D. Harber et al, Antisemitism, conspiracy beliefs, and anti-Israel attitudes., American Psychologist (2026). DOI: 10.1037/amp0001635”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 11: “Throughout history, conspiracy theories have been used to scapegoat Jews, blaming them for everything from the Black Plague to the 9/11 attacks and the assassination of Charlie Kirk”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The claim mentions Jews being blamed for the Black Plague and 9/11 (common historical conspiracy tropes) and specifically mentions the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The provided Wikipedia evidence explicitly confirms that Charlie Kirk was assassinated on September 10, 2025.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — There is considerable debate about the nature of antisemitism in Islam, including Muslim attitudes towards Jews, Islamic teachings on Jews and Judaism, and the treatment of Jews in Islamic societies t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_Islam

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Charlie Kirk, an American right-wing political activist, was assassinated at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10, 2025, while speaking at an outdoor campus debate planned by Turning …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Charlie_Kirk

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Candace Amber Owens Farmer (née Owens; born April 29, 1989) is an American far-right political commentator, author, and conspiracy theorist. She has promoted conspiracy theories on a wide range of sub…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candace_Owens

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 12: “Democratic participants showed lower levels of antisemitism but stronger hostility toward Israel and greater endorsement of anti-Israel conspiracy beliefs.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 13: “Among Republican respondents, antisemitic beliefs were slightly more prevalent, but anti-Israel sentiment was less pronounced.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.