With the current rise of antisemitism, this important book looks at how one Jewish family —the Rothschilds—became a lightning rod for the conspiracy theories.

SYNOPSIS

From "Jewish space lasers" to centuries-old myths, conspiracy theories about Jews have shaped history and continue to fuel misinformation today. Journalist Mike Rothschild explores where these ideas come from, why they persist, and how they spread in the digital age. Accessible, engaging, and often humorous, this timely book equips readers to better understand—and challenge—the conspiracy thinking increasingly influencing public discourse.

WHY WE LOVE IT

"This is a great book that gives historical and factual context to antisemitic tropes.”
Aaron Shames
Member of the Great Jewish Bookshelf 2026 Selection Committee

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Roth­schild is a jour­nal­ist and con­spir­a­cy the­o­ry expert whose work has exam­ined scams, frauds, moral pan­ic, con­spir­a­cy the­o­ries, and how their impact has gone from the online world into every­day life. He has writ­ten two pre­vi­ous books, includ­ing The Storm is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Move­ment, Cult, and Con­spir­a­cy The­o­ry of Every­thing, which exam­ines the roots and the impact of the QAnon move­ment. Roth­schild has been inter­viewed by CNN, MSNBC, NPR, the BBC, the Wash­ing­ton Post, and the New York Times among many oth­ers to dis­cuss con­spir­a­cy the­o­ries; has tes­ti­fied to Con­gress on the threat of elec­tion dis­in­for­ma­tion; and appeared in numer­ous doc­u­men­taries and podcasts.