In a Tuesday interview with the conservative-leaning media network Newsmax, Republican Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene labeled reports of her belief in a "Jewish space laser" conspiracy theory as "fake news." In this photo, Greene speaks during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on February 5, 2021 in Washington, DC. The House voted 230 to 199 to remove Greene from committee assignments over her remarks about QAnon and other conspiracy theories. Drew Angerer/Getty But modernity brought its own problems, like crushing urban poverty, and anti-Semitism adapted to explain those ills as well. Anti-Semitic writers and politicians described Jews as a disloyal population dispersed throughout the Christian world, an international group plotting to use modern finance to undermine the stability of Christian society and manipulate Europe and the United States from behind the scenes.

Let’s get this out of the way: First-term Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s claim that the 2018 California wildfires were ignited by a space laser controlled by a corporate cabal, including the Rothschild banking firm, is objectively ridiculous. It’s okay to laugh about it. At different times in the past did Jewish people tend to have certain jobs like banking or entertainment? Gee, blaming a racial group for a public health crisis, in this case an environmental health crisis? When has that ever happened before?

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Zionist supremacists” are secretly masterminding Muslim immigration to Europe in a scheme to outbreed white people. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile. Naturally, right? While real scientists have long said that climate change has left many regions drier than before, why should anyone listen to science? Why not blame it on freaking laser beams? Rothschild also touched upon the internal debates within the Jewish community regarding figures like Soros. “Just because you’re Jewish doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything Soros or the Rothschilds do,” he said. However, he emphasized the distinction between legitimate criticism and antisemitic conspiracy theories. Totally, they are the epitome of old world luxury and opulence and palaces, all the all the stuff you’d use in a “which way, western man” meme. You’d think they’d love the Rothschilds. But, alas.

Mike Rothschild is an American journalist with no connections to the Rothschild family he writes about. “This is the biography of an idea,” he explains, “and it’s a simple enough one: that Jews control everything, and that the Rothschilds are the ‘Kings of the Jews’.” Did you find any key differences between antisemitism about the Rothschilds in the U.S. compared to in Europe? A spokesman for Rep. Liz Cheney, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, replied in response to both questions, “no.” Antisemitism is a prejudice, akin to so many others. Just like racism and an array of other hatreds, it relies on stereotypes and assumes that all members of the group share those characteristics. Antisemitism has unique characteristics that differentiate it from other hatreds. The racist “punches down” and loathes persons of colour because they are apparently “lesser than” the white person. They are, the racist proclaims, not as smart, industrious, qualified or worthy. In contrast, the antisemite “punches up”. The Jew is supposedly more powerful, ingenious and financially adept than the non-Jew. Jews use their prodigious skills to advance themselves and harm others. The Jew is not just to be loathed. The Jew is to be feared.Don't tell me that this is about a condemnation of antisemitic remarks when you have a member of the Republican caucus who has talked about Jewish space lasers and an entire amount of tropes," Ocasio-Cortez said. "And also elevated her to some of the highest committee assignments in this body." As a political junky, and a technologist I got very interested in misinformation and disinformation the last several years. Some of the books were very enlightening, and I’m always happy to learn more. So sure, the idea of a Jewish space laser ravaging California is kind of funny. But it speaks to something profoundly dark about our current political moment: the way the rise of the American far right has enabled the spread of one of the world’s oldest hatreds. The unbreakable link between conspiracy theories and anti-Semitism Looks like Reps. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., are not too afraid of the ... [+] space laser while standing outside. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

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 of the last two centuries, and how those theories are still very much alive today. I spoke with Rothschild over Zoom about how these lies metastasized, the new phony Rothschild heir and Elon Musk’s decision to take on the Anti-Defamation League. The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity. The only time that I know it’s come up was with Cleon Skousen’s book, The Naked Capitalist, which was basically a book-length review of Carol Quigley’s book on Nineteenth and Twentieth century economics, except hideously antisemitic and full of conspiracy theories. Quigley was not a big fan of Skousen, but I don’t think he did anything. A lot of these guys are just too busy building their own brands, whether it’s Alex Jones now or racists of 200 years ago. We are still trying our best to piece together exactly what happened that caused this unfortunate fire.Over centuries, and probably millenniums, people loved to blame the rich for their own miserable lives, and not much has changed. Add to that rabid antisemitism and you get a fertile ground for conspiracy theories which have festered in our society, and crossed oceans, to this day. For more than 200 years, the name “Rothschild” has been synonymous with two things: great wealth, and conspiracy theories about what they’re “really doing” with it. Almost from the moment Mayer Amschel Rothschild and his sons emerged from the Jewish ghetto of Frankfurt to revolutionize the banking world, the Rothschild family has been the target of myths, hoaxes, bizarre accusations, and constant, virulent antisemitism. Over the years, they have been blamed for everything from the sinking of the Titanic, to causing the Great Depression, and even creating the COVID-19 pandemic. Greene made Facebook comments about "Frazzledrip," which were recently reported by left-leaning nonprofit Media Matters for America (MMFA), in May 2018.

Journalist Mike Rothschild, bearing a surname synonymous with wealth and power, has delved deep into these myths. Although he clarifies he has no direct lineage to the famed Rothschild banking dynasty, his exploration into the conspiracy theories surrounding the family is both profound and personal.

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This speaks to a fundamental asymmetry in the nature of the two political parties. The Republican Party depends, and for a very long time has depended, on a faction of the conspiratorial faction of the conservative movement. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene with other House Republicans on the steps of the Capitol. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images