Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In this episode of the Middle East Forum Podcast, guest host Michael Rubin speaks with Joel Finkelstein, co-founder and director of the Network Contagion Research Institute, about how foreign adversaries exploit social media, antisemitism, and political unrest to manipulate Americans.
Drawing on NCRI’s investigations, Finkelstein explains how networks linked to China, Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela fund activist organizations, coordinate disruptive protests, influence online narratives, and use anti-Zionism as a decoy for broader attacks on the United States and Western institutions.
The discussion also explores TikTok’s algorithm, the evidence used to identify foreign influence operations, the limitations of government agencies, and why uncovering supply chains and rapidly communicating the truth may be more effective than traditional campaigns against hate.
Subscribe to the Middle East Forum for weekly conversations about the forces shaping the Middle East, the United States, and the wider world.
In this episode of the Middle East Forum Podcast, guest host Michael Rubin speaks with Joel Finkelstein, co-founder and director of the Network Contagion Research Institute, about how foreign adversaries exploit social media, antisemitism, and political unrest to manipulate Americans.
Drawing on NCRI’s investigations, Finkelstein explains how networks linked to China, Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela fund activist organizations, coordinate disruptive protests, influence online narratives, and use anti-Zionism as a decoy for broader attacks on the United States and Western institutions.
The discussion also explores TikTok’s algorithm, the evidence used to identify foreign influence operations, the limitations of government agencies, and why uncovering supply chains and rapidly communicating the truth may be more effective than traditional campaigns against hate.
Subscribe to the Middle East Forum for weekly conversations about the forces shaping the Middle East, the United States, and the wider world.
