A study conducted by the Jewish People Policy Institute, whose results were published Monday, put hard numbers behind the anti-Israel, antisemitic turns of right-wing American influencers Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens over the last year.

The two controversial talk show hosts, who have come to represent a fault line within the pro-Donald Trump Make America Great Again movement, each significantly intensified their focus on Israel this year, compared to coverage of other international issues, such as the war in Ukraine or tensions with China. For Owens, the shift began in February 2025; for Carlson, in April.

The study, driven by artificial intelligence, noted that Carlson has condemned outright antisemitism — but also that he has provided an uncritical platform to people who are openly antisemitic, including Holocaust denier and white nationalist Nick Fuentes. In the case of Candace Owens, the antisemitism has become increasingly open.

The study used AI to survey the transcripts of some 3,000 videos posted to the YouTube channels of Carlson and Owens, each of which has more than five million subscribers. The analysis tracked keywords and comparisons between content addressing Jews and Israel, on the one hand, and content addressing other global issues, on the other.

AI-based sentiment analysis was also used to assess attitudes toward Israel and identify antisemitic expressions based on the definition provided by the International Holocaust Remembrance Association. The IHRA formulation defines some ways of talking about Israel as antisemitic, but does not classify generic criticism of Israeli policy that way.

According to the study, Carlson’s references to Israel became markedly more negative this year, with only about half of them being negative from November 2024 to April 2025, but........

© The Times of Israel