Candace Owens Is Why Ukraine and Israel Need a Joint Disinformation Task Force

Almost a year ago, I wrote my first Times of Israel blog about Russia’s demonization of Ukraine and Israel. One year later, I have to admit something: absolutely nothing has changed.

Following her trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg — ostensibly a family vacation that somehow included an appearance at Russia’s imitation of Davos, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, alongside propagandists and useful idiots like former action star Steven Seagal — Israel hater Candace Owens predictably posted a video about her experience.

It contains everything you would expect. ‘Russia is better than America.’ ‘Everyone should travel to Russia.’ ‘The streets are cleaner.’ ‘America is in decline.’

What it does not contain is any mention of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, Ukraine’s relentless strikes on Russian oil refineries, military factories, Kronstadt, and other strategic targets, or the broader cost of the war to Russian society.

Just as predictably, Owens framed criticism of her Moscow trip as yet another “Zionist wail”. Given her history, this is hardly surprising. Beyond her overt hostility toward Israel, it likely stems from her long-running feuds with other right-wing commentators, including Ben Shapiro and Laura Loomer.

This is the same playbook we saw from Tucker Carlson — the man who once marveled at the existence of shopping carts in a Moscow Auchan supermarket and who has repeatedly drifted into anti-Zionist and, at times, openly anti-Jewish rhetoric.

These shenanigans would be amusing if the people involved had no influence. Unfortunately, they do. Perhaps not on policymaking itself, but certainly on public opinion and the spread of outright falsehoods.

Take Owens’ statement in St. Petersburg, where, surrounded by dozens of Russian reporters in a remarkable display of vanity, she claimed that Americans are tired of supporting Ukraine.

This is simply false.

Not only do public opinion surveys — including Pew Research polling conducted this spring — continue to show majority support for Ukraine and assistance to it, but the claim is detached from present reality. Washington is not currently providing new aid packages to Ukraine. The last major package was approved in 2024 after months of brinkmanship fueled by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, best known for promoting the infamous “Jewish space laser” conspiracy theory and for her hostility toward Ukraine.

Would you be surprised to learn that Greene praised Owens’ Moscow trip? Or that Owens also spent time in St. Petersburg with Alexandra Jost, a half-American, half-Russian propagandist posing as a travel blogger, who routinely attacks Israel and describes it as a “fascist state”?

Probably not.

But the larger point is this: The same people who target Ukraine almost invariably target Israel.

Take anti-Israel far-left influencer Hasan Piker, who has openly stated that he considers Crimea to be Russian territory. Or anti-Israel Code Pink, which routinely blames the United States for a war launched by Russia as part of its imperial ambitions. The pattern repeats itself over and over again.

Many people working in the field recognize this, yet it remains surprisingly underexplored, one of the central points I raised during my interview with the Israeli-focused program “The Monday Meeting: A Weekly Conversation with Israelis, Jews, and Allies, Hosted by Oct7,” where I discussed how Russian information warfare weaponizes both antisemitism and anti-Ukraine narratives to attack Israel and Ukraine simultaneously.

The challenge, of course, is not merely identifying the problem but responding to it accordingly.

When I approached Ukraine’s Embassy in Israel with the idea of hosting a presentation on this topic, the response was positive. I was told that I would be welcome to speak in Tel Aviv.

And I will.

But individual enthusiasm can only go so far. My own resources are limited, and I certainly do not possess the means to travel back and forth indefinitely. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian state offers little support for initiatives of this kind.

For now, this remains largely a passion project pursued by a small group of people. The work will continue regardless. Yet there is far more that could be done for the benefit of both Ukraine and Israel — two democracies fighting for their survival. That includes support for extensive linguistic research, case studies, and deeper analysis of the information ecosystem targeting both countries.

I can only hope that, eventually, this work attracts the resources it deserves — whether from governments, institutions, or grassroots supporters.