Oliver Anthony accused of promoting antisemitic 9/11 conspiracy theories

Viral sensation and country music star Oliver Anthony has been found by Newsweek to be promoting videos about 9/11 which have been described by a group that combats antisemitism as dangerous conspiracy theories.

The previously unknown singer became an overnight sensation when his single “Rich Men of Richmond” went viral in early August.

In a matter of days the video received more than 14 million views on YouTube thanks to the endorsement of popular podcaster Joe Rogan, who shared the video on his X, formerly Twitter, account.

Anthony, a former factory worker from Farmville, Virginia, now holds five songs in the top 12 of the iTunes song chart.

However, a playlist he created on his official YouTube account includes a number of choices that are likely to prove controversial.

Titled “Videos That Make Your Noggin Bigger,” it contains 49 videos with topics ranging from music videos to psychology, many from the academic and influencer Jordan Peterson, and commentary on the “decline of society.”

Among them are also videos of news reports and discussions about events surrounding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., which appear to suggest Israel was involved in or had prior knowledge of the attacks. Campaign groups say such narratives contribute to antisemitic tropes.

Newsweek contacted Anthony directly by email early on August 22 but had not received a reply at the time of publishing. We will update this article if we receive a response.

The ‘Dancing Israelis’ Conspiracy Theory

In 2001, a group of terrorists from al-Qaeda hijacked commercial airlines flying them into New York City’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon. One plane headed for the White House crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after a team of passengers attempted to stop the hijackers. More than 2,970 people lost their lives.

Conspiracy theories about Jewish people’s role in 9/11 have persevered since the attacks. Such theories are often “a continuation of centuries-old antisemitic tropes about Jews supposedly manipulating world events for their own benefit,” according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a group which aims to end antisemitism.

Two of the videos in Anthony’s playlist refer to the concept of “dancing Israelis,” which is a term used by people who claim the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad was behind the attacks.

“The most common ‘proof’ cited is the false claim that five Israeli Mossad agents were arrested on 9/11 by police who observed them filming and celebrating the attack,” the ADL wrote on its website.

The Nationalist Social Club (NSC), a neo-Nazi group based in New England, has spray-painted graffiti multiple times in recent years that features the Star of David and reads, “Mossad did 9/11! Google ‘Dancing Israelis.'”

This claim stems from an account from a witness who saw the five men in a parking lot in New Jersey. She said that they were smiling and giving each other high fives. She also saw them photographing each other with the Twin Towers in flames behind them.

The men were arrested and the FBI conducted an investigation. It concluded that none of the Israelis had any information or prior knowledge of the attacks, and none of them were engaged in intelligence gathering in the U.S.

Nevertheless, speculation about the men has persisted. One of the videos on Anthony’s playlist is called “9/11 Dancing Israelis and Urban Moving Systems” on the Truther TV YouTube account. It features a 2002 ABC news report from the 20/20 program about the five arrested Israelis.

Another is called “FOX News Segment on The Dancing Israelis,” on a YouTube account called Make Schumer Cry Again, which covers allegations about Israeli intelligence operations on U.S. soil.

Another video on the playlist, called “Richard Gage Reveals Who Was Behind 9/11” appears to have been removed. It features a discussion with Gage, who has described himself as a “9/11 truth leader,” about whether a Jewish businessman took out an insurance policy before the attack from which he may have profited.

X user Ben Lorber took a screenshot the video before it was removed.

“Oliver Anthony, country singer behind the new conservative anthem ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’, has a public YouTube playlist recommending ‘videos that make your noggin [head] get bigger’. Three of the 48 videos are devoted to antisemitic conspiracy theories about 9/11,” Lorber wrote on X.

‘This is Dangerous Stuff’

With Anthony’s growing profile and platform comes responsibility to be mindful about what information he shares online, according to the Campaign Against Antisemitism, a British group.

“Oliver Anthony must understand that with influence comes responsibility. He is no longer a nobody, and his inclusion of baseless 9/11 conspiracy theory videos on his playlist now risks influencing vast numbers of people to dislike Israelis and Jewish people more generally, for no reason,” a spokesperson from the group told Newsweek.

“This is dangerous stuff. Misinformation about Jews is at the heart of antisemitism, and Jewish communities are more vulnerable to the repercussions of this sort of rhetoric than ever before.”

The ADL also described such conspiracy theories as baseless with real-world consequences.

“We know that conspiracy theories can motivate real-world behavior, including acts of extremism and violence. Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers was inspired to attack the Tree of Life synagogue because he believed in conspiracy theories regarding the involvement of Jewish people in mass immigration, and likewise, many participants in the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th were fueled by conspiracy theories,” the ADL wrote on its website.

Anthony has also came under fire for the lyrics of his now viral song, “Rich Men of Richmond” which included, “the obese milking welfare” and supposed references to QAnon and Jeffrey Epstein.

“I wish politicians would look out for miners, and not just minors on an island somewhere,” Anthony also sings.

Other lyrics which were deemed by critics as fatphobic included, “But God if you’re five foot three, And you’re three hundred pounds, Taxes ought not to pay, For your bags of fudge rounds.”

Anthony himself has said he does not support one side of the political spectrum over the other.

“I sit pretty dead-center down the aisle on politics and always have,” he said in a video on YouTube the day before the song was released.

Update, 08/23/23, 4 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional background information.