Last week, a coronavirus conspiracy group on Telegram posed a question to thousands of followers: “Is Israel tricking the whole world to add restrictions against non-vaccinated people?” 

Dozens of comments rolled in rapidly. “It’s always those damn Jews,” one user replied. Then came the memes: A video of a person thrashing around on fire underneath a blue Star of David; a caricature of a hook-nosed Jewish man with the body of an insect; a young woman giving a Nazi salute. “They aren’t giving the vaccine to their people,” read another response. 

Within minutes, the exchange had encapsulated an online collision of coronavirus-related conspiracy theories that is taking place right now, in which people who subscribe to a range of reactionary ideologies are intermingling and feeding off one another’s narratives. 

Among the most toxic results is a growth of antisemitic vaccine conspiracies, which are popping up everywhere from Neo-Nazi websites to Covid-19-skeptic communities. While such ideas existed long before the coronavirus, experts say that the convergence of anti-vaccine advocacy and antisemitic views has deepened during the pandemic. One possible reason is that many people are spending much more time online during widespread lockdowns, creating an avenue for extremists to spread their ideas to wider audiences.