ADL Says Iran’s HispanTV Spreads Antisemitism and ‘Anti-Jewish Hate’ to Spanish-Speaking Audiences Worldwide

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) published a report on Monday that accused Iran’s Spanish-language media outlet HispanTV of promoting antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and anti-Israel bias and incitement to its audience of nearly 600 million Spanish speakers around the world.

Established in 2011, HispanTV is financed and run by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting corporation (IRIB), whose head is appointed directly by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The media outlet reaches audiences through satellite, cable, live streaming and social media. It is one of the two top channels IRIB uses to promote “anti-Jewish hate globally,” with the other being the English-language PressTV, according to the ADL.

In its report, the Jewish group gives detailed examples of how HispanTV propagates antisemitic conspiracy theories and misinformation, including Holocaust distortion, delegitimizing Zionism and comparing it to Nazism, spreading antisemitic tropes about Jews and Jewish power, glorification of terrorism, justification for the destruction of Israel, and lies and myths related to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel.

In 2013, HispanTV published an article titled “Why Jews Dominate Hollywood,” supporting the antisemitic conspiracy theory about Jewish control over the entertainment industry. Another article from 2015 was titled “Zionism, the Real Ally of Hitler” and a separate article from 2020 was titled, “The New Coronavirus is the Result of a Zionist Plot.”

Following the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre, HispanTV accused Western media of unfairly portraying Israel as victims and demonizing Iran-backed Hamas terrorists responsible for the attack, in which 1,200 were murdered and about 240 more were taken hostage. The media outlet also broadcast news program and published articles that absolved Hamas of responsibility for the attack.

The ADL report detailing HispanTV’s antisemitic content was released on the 30th anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Federation in Buenos Aires, Argentina, an attack by the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorist group, and backed by the Iranian regime, where 85 people were killed and over 300 were injured.

“Alongside physical violence, the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the world’s leading state-sponsor of antisemitism and terrorism, uses cultural centers and media across Latin America to incite hostility against Jewish communities,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who is currently in Argentina. “The cynical use of media outlets like HispanTV to amplify antisemitic conspiracies and disinformation is reprehensible and unethical. In our report, we outline concrete steps to urge policymakers and corporations to take swift action to prevent HispanTV and other Iranian regime media from spreading hate through these platforms.”

The United States sanctioned the IRIB in 2013 and 2022 for spreading disinformation and carrying out human rights violations, including the broadcasting of forced confessions by dissidents and foreign hostages. In 2019, Google blocked 39 YouTube channels connected to Iran, including Hispan TV, for “violating Google’s policies.”

The ADL stated in its report that “unless there is a concerted effort by governments, international organizations, corporations, and other relevant state and non-state actors, HispanTV will continue to spew hateful conspiracies that will radicalize the next generation of antisemites in Latin America and beyond.”

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