| THE LIE Israel controls the United States and spies on Americans, proven by the fact that the Department of Homeland Security’s social media account is based in Tel Aviv. |
| THE TRUTH The claim that the DHS account is based in Tel Aviv is false, and intelligence-sharing with allies is standard practice — not proof that those allies are “spying on Americans.” |
| BACKGROUND On May 7, 2026, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) claimed on Tucker Carlson’s podcast that the U.S. government is surveilling Americans on Israel’s behalf and funneling the intelligence directly to the Israeli government. (Tucker Carlson) As evidence, he pointed to a viral claim that the official X account of the Department of Homeland Security had supposedly been created in Tel Aviv. |
| TRUTH EXPLAINED Massie’s claim was based on a fake screenshot that was already publicly debunked in November 2025. (Snopes) The viral screenshot claiming the Department of Homeland Security’s X account was created in Tel Aviv was clearly fabricated: it lacked the official government verification badge, the account that spread it later appeared to reveal how it was made, and X executives explicitly stated the claim was false. (X), (X), (X) Independent reviews of the DHS account during the brief rollout of X’s location feature showed the account displayed a U.S. location — not Israel — completely undermining the conspiracy theory. (Snopes) Massie and Tucker present routine intelligence-sharing between allies as sinister only when the ally is Israel. The United States maintains nearly identical intelligence arrangements with Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and numerous European allies. (Times of Israel), (Privacy Affairs), (Privacy International) Sharing intelligence related to terrorism and foreign threats is standard practice among allied nations and is not evidence that Israel secretly controls American surveillance operations. (Jewish Virtual Library), (Israel Truth Network) |
| QUOTES “This is fake news. Location was not available on any gray check account at any point. Furthermore, the DHS has only shown IPs from the United States since account creation.” — NIkita Bier, X Head of Product “I think there’s a degree of hypocrisy among the Europeans to say, ‘Oh, my gosh, the Americans are spying!’ Well, so are they.” — Peter Earnest, 36-year CIA veteran |
| TAKEAWAY The real problem isn’t that random people online spread wild conspiracy theories. What’s troubling is that a sitting U.S. Congressman (Thomas Massie) and a major media figure (Tucker Carlson) took a clearly fake screenshot — one that had already been debunked — and used it to claim that Israel’s government secretly controls or manipulates American surveillance systems.Massie and Carlson have a well-known fixation on Israel. They often frame many U.S. policies they dislike — on wars, foreign aid, surveillance, or politics — as secretly driven by Israel. Promoting a thoroughly debunked hoax based on an obviously fake screenshot takes it to a new low, even for them. |
