Social Media Giant Telegram Exhibits Daily, Growing, Antisemitism

Daily antisemitic threats and violent rhetoric on the prominent messaging platform Telegram surged by 594% following the recent escalation between Israel and the Iranian regime on June 12, 2025, and have remained elevated in the week since, according to new research from the ADL Center on Extremism (COE).

The dramatic increase compares to baseline activity averaging 28.5 threatening antisemitic messages per day from June 1-12. On June 13, a day after Israel launched preemptive airstrikes and a wave of operations across Iran meant to disrupt its nuclear program, antisemitic threats and violent sentiments on the platform spiked to 398 messages—the highest single-day total recorded by COE.

Further research showed that daily averages of such messages remained elevated at 197.8 messages per day through June 17, indicating a sustained mobilization of extremist networks on Telegram rather than merely transient reactionary activity.

A graph showing a surge in antisemitic threats and violent rhetoric on Telegram after June 13

While COE monitors a range of social media and messaging platforms for threats, Telegram was selected for this analysis due to its significant popularity among extremists. Through monitoring on Telegram, COE gains unique insights into how different ideological movements respond to and exploit current events to spread hatred and incite violence.

Overall, COE’s findings for this analysis suggest coordinated messaging campaigns deploying extreme anti-Israel and anti-Zionist rhetoric. As Iran mounted a campaign of ballistic missile strikes that largely hit civilian and residential areas across Israel in the days that followed the preemptive operation, the nature of the antisemitic threats extended far beyond typical online harassment and into graphic calls for genocide and mass violence against Israelis and Jews.

A message on Telegram calling for violence against Israeli adults and kids. (Screenshot/Telegram)

While the majority of documented threats consisted of general calls for violence against Jewish people and Israelis, ADL researchers also identified more specific threats that included claims of past violence and direct incitement to coordinated attacks. These more targeted threats represent a higher level of operational concern but are not included in the examples below.

Analysis of threat patterns
Between June 13 and June 17, COE captured close to 1,000 messages containing antisemitic threats and violent rhetoric on Telegram with a clear pattern of anti-Israel and anti-Zionist messaging.

The top five channels for such discourse were:

• ResistanceTrench GC - 450 messages
• Lion's Den for Truth - 118 messages
• Disclose.tv Chat - 113 messages
• Anticapitalist Regime - ACS group chat - 98 messages
• Al-Qassam Toast (Shark Attack Blood Bath) - 86 messages

The dominance of "ResistanceTrench GC" with 450 messages in the span of five days shows how certain channels become primary mobilization hubs during geopolitical crises. The presence of Arabic-language Gaza-focused channels shows the international scope of the threat surge.

Notably, the mix of top channels includes both explicitly militant channels ("Lion's Den," "ResistanceTrench") and ostensibly mainstream discussion forums (Disclose.tv Chat), highlighting how antisemitic rhetoric spreads across different types of online communities during periods of conflict in the Middle East.

A message on Telegram that reads: "Can you kill an Israeli please"

(Screenshot/Telegram)

A message on Telegram reading: "Iran should kill all these Jews." (Screenshot/Telegram)

Most concerning was the presence of explicitly violent content, as evidenced in channels like "ResistanceTrench GC" and "Al-Qassam Toast (Shark Attack Blood Bath),” alongside the sustained volume of messages with traditional antisemitic tropes and propaganda that exploit geopolitical tensions to further mainstream hatred against Jewish communities globally.

Messages documented during this period include detailed descriptions of torture, calls to "kill each and every jew [sic]," and discussions of using children for violent experimentation, representing some of the most extreme antisemitic content ADL researchers have catalogued. 

A message on Telegram reading: "Kill all the Jews" (Screenshot/Telegram)

A message on Telegram reading: "WTF Kill all the fucking Jews." (Screenshot/Telegram)

This escalation in dehumanizing rhetoric adds to a threat environment where Jewish individuals face heightened physical danger and demonstrates how international conflicts are being weaponized to normalize violent and genocidal language online.