On Oct. 7, 2026, Tucker Carlson marked the third anniversary of Hamas’ massacre of Israeli communities and the onset of the Hamas-Israel war with another wild episode of his Tucker Carlson Show. The conspiracy-spreading, antisemitic pundit made a number of baseless insinuations and claims; such as that Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack was an Israeli “false flag” operation, that former Israeli hostage and U.S. citizen Edan Alexander is not really an American, and that Israel killed some 200,000 people in Gaza. Jewish and Israeli media reported on this episode and Carlson’s lies.
But what these reports miss is that the person Carlson names as one of the sources – if not the source – of the false flag theory is Israeli conspiracist Efrat Fenigson. While media reports noted Carlson relied on some comments by Charlie Kirk to suggest the Oct. 7 Hamas attack was a false flag operation, Kirk is not the actual source of the false flag claim. Fenigson raised it before Kirk asked separate questions about the massacre. Although relatively unknown, Fenigson’s claims are now elevated by Carlson, in that her conspiracies are echoed by a prominent media personality.
Who is Efrat Fenigson? She claims to be a journalist, podcaster, and commentator. Hinting at the conspiratorial nature of her views, Fenigson describes herself as a “dissident voice” who “strives to uncover the hidden truth from Israel and report it to the world, while bringing the world’s hidden reality to uninformed Israelis.” She has experience in tech and marketing and is enthusiastic about cryptocurrency, calling herself “a freedom and Bitcoin maximalist.” In 2022, she was featured by the Wall Street Journal as one of “100 Israeli Tech Leaders You Need to Know.” Fenigson claims she served on the IDF’s intelligence branch, which implies she is a “credible” source on these matters. But aside from a brief statement she had served in the intelligence branch for 25 years, Fenigson does not provide any details about her alleged service – that remains conveniently mysterious.
In Carlson’s words, Fenigson is “one of the very first people” to notice that Hamas’ success in executing the massacre was “very, very strange.” On the morning of the attack Fenigson said:
After engaging in wild speculations, including suggesting the attack and hostage-taking were a part of normalization efforts with Saudi Arabia, Fenigson said:
To me this su(r)prise attack seems like a planned operation. On all fronts.
This is a failure to protect the people of Israel, for sure, perhaps the biggest failure since the Yom Kippur war exactly 50 years ago, if not bigger. – by the way – is it a coincidence it’s exactly 50 years ago, almost on the day? The Yom Kippur War was on Oct. 6th 1973.
If I was a conspiracy theorist I would say that this feels like the work of the Deep State.
It feels like the people of Israel and the people of Palestine have been sold, once again, to the higher powers that be.
On Oct. 11, 2023, Fenigson went on Darkhorse podcast hosted by Bret Weinstein, another conspiracist media personality with a substantial following, and voiced her views. Fenigson continued providing “evidence” to support her theory in the years to come. For example, on July 31, 2025, she used an Israeli soldier’s testimony about his border patrol getting canceled shortly before the attack as “proof” that there was a stand-down order in effect on Oct. 7, 2023. But Fenigson’s claim is a baseless conspiratorial interpretation – nothing in the soldier’s testimony proves there was such order. She is reading her conspiracy into his testimony.
So far, it seems that Fenigson did not receive much attention by organizations that combat antisemitism. Only one report – produced by the World Jewish Congress in October 2023 – mentions Fenigson’s claims regarding Oct. 7. The report notes that her claims were cited by articles that became viral online.
The connection between Carlson and Fenigson is not new and his Oct. 7 podcast was not the first time he mentioned her. On March 12, 2026, Carlson was a guest on Weinstein’s podcast, and he mentioned Fenigson then. Carlson first referred to a number of “patriotic Israelis” uncovering what he considers the truth about Oct. 7 (namely, advancing the false flag theory). He then mentions Fenigson by name, saying he never met her, but he “admire(d) her,” and that “she’s smart and she seems honest.” He also refers to her views on bitcoin with which he is familiar.
Responding to the Darkhorse episode on March 13, Fenigson thanked Weinstein and Carlson for mentioning her, tweeting on X: “thank you, Tucker & Bret for mentioning my modest contribution” (to spreading what she considers the truth about Oct. 7). She then proceeded to describe the so-called censorship of views like hers, and the price she paid for speaking what she claims is the truth. The Carlson-Fenigson connection became public again on Carlson’s Oct. 7, 2023, anniversary podcast when he briefly mentioned Fenigson right in the beginning of the episode.
That Tucker Carlson is a vile antisemite and racist is clear. But now, both he and Fenigson benefit from their unholy connection. Carlson has on his side an Israeli who claims to have the military experience necessary to know “the truth” about Oct. 7. Fenigson on the other hand gained some access to, or acceptance within, a major misinformation platform speaking to kindred conspiracists.
In a July 31, 2025, blog post Fenigson wrote: “stand strong when they call you ‘conspiracy theorists,’ truth finds its way.” And truth will prevail – and it is not on the Carlson-Fenigson side.
The truth about Hamas’ attack and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war is well-known. Hamas was able to militarily surprise Israel, executing a plan it had worked on for years. Israeli intelligence and security bodies failed in their assessments of Hamas’ plans and Israel’s own strength. Those who warned of Hamas’ intentions – many of whom were young female soldiers – were dismissed by more senior commanders. There were other systematic failures, such as groupthink regarding Hamas, and mishandling of information. Once Hamas launched its gruesome attack, Israel responded.
There is nothing conspiratorial about Hamas’ attack or the war. It was the result of Israel’s failures and hubris in reading and understanding Hamas and its ideology as well as Hamas’ mass murder and kidnapping of Israeli civilians and soldiers. Carlson and Fenigson distort reality, ignore well-known facts, and ridiculously suggest that a strong army is absolutely infallible – all in order to spread conspiracies and hate.