Published: May 2026
Why many pandemic-era skeptics turned out to be Israel partisans.
The shocking events of 7 October 2023 and the subsequent Israeli wars against Gaza, Lebanon and Iran saw not only some of the worst war crimes since World War II, but also some of the most extreme war propaganda and atrocity propaganda since World War II or even World War I.
At first glance, one might have thought that former covid skeptics, who pushed back against pandemic propaganda and defended civil rights, would also push back against war propaganda and defend human rights. However, this turned out not to be the case at all, as many well-known former covid skeptics became vocal Israel partisans. How can this observation be explained?
A combination of two factors
A combination of two factors may explain this remarkable development.
First, during the covid pandemic, many progressive, socialist and anti-imperialist authors remained surprisingly silent or even actively supported pandemic propaganda (e.g. concerning covid lethality, lockdowns, mask mandates, vaccines and vaccine passports).
For instance, the anti-imperialist World Socialist Website argued that lockdown skepticism was a Big Business plot to sacrifice workers and maximize profits. In reality, of course, lockdowns crushed many small businesses and boosted Big Tech corporations.
Overall, progressive and socialist authors appear to have been particularly susceptible to pandemic propaganda, which emphasized “protecting the weak and old” and called for collective and state action as opposed to personal responsibility and flexible solutions.
In many countries there were of course exceptions to this general pattern, such as progressive and socialist authors and media outlets that saw covid measures as an authoritarian or “fascist” power grab by the state and corporations that had to be resisted.
Nevertheless, the general pattern meant that many covid and lockdown skeptics happened to be conservative (or libertarian) authors who rejected state interventions and coercive measures.
This is where the second factor comes into play: while most progressive, socialist and anti-imperialist authors nowadays are non-Zionist or anti-Zionist, there are three Western conservative groups that remain firmly Zionist: Jewish Zionists (ethnic motives), Christian Zionists (religious motives), and (non-Jewish) Zionist nationalists (ideological motives).
In retrospect, it is apparent that many well-known covid and lockdown skeptics of the pandemic period belonged and still belong to one of these three conservative Zionist groups.
This assessment is also backed by surveys: while popular support for Israel has collapsed to historic lows in most Western countries, the only groups that still show majority support for Israel are elderly conservatives (e.g. the Fox News audience), Christian Zionists (mostly Evangelicals), Jewish citizens (60 to 95% Zionist support), and politicians (e.g. due to Israel lobby influence).
Examples from the US, Europe, and Israel
Several prominent examples from the US, Europe, and Israel illustrate this point.
In the US, there were three states that became famous (or infamous) for rejecting covid restrictions: Texas, Florida, and South Dakota. All three of them are or were run by vocal Christian Zionist conservative governors: Greg Abbott in Texas, Ron DeSantis in Florida, and Kristi Noem in South Dakota (who in 2025 became Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security).
One of the best-known US covid skeptics is the author of a Substack called “Unreported Truths“, a Jewish Zionist who previously worked at the predominantly Jewish-Zionist New York Times and later wrote best-selling spy novels based on the post-9/11 Zionist “war on terror” narrative that were adapted for the popular American “counter-terrorism” TV series “Homeland” and “24”.
Another well-known American covid skeptic, author of a Substack called “The Dossier”, was previously exposed as a covert Israel lobbyist in an Al Jazeera undercover investigation.
Another well-known US covid skeptic turned out to be a Mormon, one of the foremost Christian Zionist groups. Another one, famous for his mask-related charts, turned out to be a Zionist working at a pro-Israel sports and culture magazine. Another one, going by the name of “Gummibear“, turned out to be an “alt-right” Zionist. A prominent RNA vaccine skeptic and a well-known covid origins investigator (who believes Oswald shot JFK) also turned out to be conservative Zionists.
In the UK, there is the very interesting case of the Daily Sceptic web magazine (previously the Lockdown Sceptic), one of the foremost skeptical publications in Britain during the pandemic. Since 7 October 2023 the “Daily Sceptic” has followed a staunchly pro-Israel line. The editor of the “Daily Sceptic” is an Anglican Christian Zionist and author of the book “Evangelical Social Theology”.
The publisher of the “Daily Sceptic” is a British journalist who as a struggling teenager was sent to an Israeli kibbutz, swore an oath to “always defend Israel”, ended up in Jeffrey Epstein’s address book and on photos with Ghislaine Maxwell, considered moving to Israel if Jeremy Corbyn became British PM, described himself as “fanatically pro-Israel”, and founded the “British Friends of Israel”. In 2024, he was nominated for a life peerage and introduced to the House of Lords by the Conservative Party.
In Canada and Australia, covid protests were covered prominently be Rebel News, a Jewish-Zionist alt-right online media outlet with close links to Israel. Another prominent and popular Australian covid skeptic on Twitter/X, MilkBarTV, also turned out to be a Jewish Zionist.
In Germany, most “alt-right” web magazines opposed covid propaganda and went on to promote Zionist nationalist positions (e.g. Nius, Apollo News, and Reitschuster). Similarly, many well-known covid-skeptical German Twitter/X influencers have turned out to be Zionist nationalists (e.g. “Corona Realism“, “Frankfurt Zack“, “Professor Freedom“, and a retired finance professor).
In Switzerland, conservative weekly Die Weltwoche opposed covid propaganda but has since promoted hardline Zionist positions. Its publisher and editor previously worked at the German Axel Springer publishing house, whose employees are required to support Israel.
In Israel itself, one of the most famous covid-skeptical Twitter/X influencers became one of the most prominent Zionist pro-war influencers after 7 October 2023, not just in Israel but in the entire world. On the other hand, another well-known Israeli covid skeptic, a female former Israeli military intelligence officer, became one of the first October 7 whistleblowers.
Analysts vs Activists
But how can it be explained that people who seemingly were smart enough to remain skeptical of pandemic propaganda went on to actively and uncritically promote Israeli propaganda?
In general, it is of course possible that ideological, religious or ethnic motives override any general skepticism and analytical skills. However, in the case of many conservative covid skeptics, there seems to be a more fundamental factor at play: although they firmly opposed (ineffective) covid restrictions, many of them seem to have largely misunderstood the pandemic as a whole.
For example, almost every single article written by the American author of “Unreported Truths” on covid, covid vaccines, covid drugs, excess mortality, birth rates and some related topics, was fundamentally incorrect. In the case of the British “Daily Sceptic”, eight of their ten most read articles in 2022 were about covid and covid vaccines, but all of them were fundamentally incorrect.
In Germany, many conservative covid skeptics still believe the pandemic was a hoax and excess mortality was caused by lockdowns and vaccines (which is incorrect); meanwhile, the most popular covid tweet by “Corona Realism” was a fake correlation chart about covid vaccines.
Thus, beyond simply rejecting covid restrictions (which indeed were mostly ineffective), many conservative covid counter-activists didn’t really understand the pandemic as a whole.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it turns out that there really isn’t any contradiction or surprise here: during the covid pandemic, serious analysts and genuine skeptics were joined by mostly conservative activists – including Jewish Zionists, Christian Zionists, and Zionist nationalists – and most of these authors and media outlets later simply turned from anti-covid activism to pro-Israel activism.
However, it is important to keep in mind that most Zionist activists were in fact supporting pandemic propaganda: this group notably includes liberal Jewish and non-Jewish Zionists (e.g. Biden supporters). It is also important to keep in mind that there is a rapidly growing group of conservative anti-Zionists, many of whom opposed covid propaganda (e.g. the Tucker Carlson audience).
Activists are often highly motivated people who may or may not be right on any particular topic but who usually “know the answer before they know the question”. At any rate, independent-minded readers should not simply and blindly rely on any particular author or media outlet but should instead re-evaluate the expertise and biases of various authors on a case-by-case basis.
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From Covid Skeptic to Israel Partisan
An analysis by Swiss Policy Research
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