A claim (archived) circulated online in April 2026 that the U.S. government would scan 2026 FIFA World Cup attendees' social media activity and ban people whose screenings found antisemitic behavior.
The American Jewish Committee, an organization founded to defend Jewish rights, defines antisemitism or antisemitic behavior as hatred towards Jewish people.
One X user who shared the claim wrote, "BREAKING: The United States government will ban World Cup attendees if they fit the profile of being antisemitic after their social media is scanned."
The claim also circulated on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived) and Threads (archived). Snopes readers wrote in to ask whether the rumor was true.
Snopes found no evidence of a specific U.S. government plan to screen World Cup attendees traveling into the U.S. for antisemitic social media activity. The claim appeared to come from a broad interpretation of reports citing Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism (archived, archived).
Ultimately, because there was no fully-formed plan to screen World Cup attendees for antisemitic social media activity at the time of this writing, we leave this claim unrated.
We contacted the departments of State and Homeland Security to ask whether there was a plan to screen World Cup attendees and refuse entry to the U.S. if their social media activity was antisemitic. We contacted Kaploun to clarify whether his reported quotes had been correctly interpreted by social media users. We also asked FIFA whether it knew of a plan to screen World Cup attendees for antisemitic social media activity. We await replies to our queries.
What Kaploun said
According to an April 16, 2026, report by the European Union-focused news outlet Euractiv, Kaploun suggested that the U.S. government could block European politicians whom it perceived as antisemitic from attending the World Cup.
The outlet quoted Kaploun as saying, "We are holding countries accountable for ministers who are saying things, and they are not being allowed into the country." Euractiv reported that Kaploun "specifically linked antisemitism to World Cup travel access" while addressing a conference in Brussels, Belgium.
Speaking directly to Euractiv, Kaploun reportedly said he was not going to get into the "nitty gritties" of how such a ban would work.
Snopes contacted the European Jewish Association that hosted the conference Kaploun spoke at (archived) in mid-April 2026 for a transcript or video recording of his speech to verify Euractiv's reported quotes from the event and await a reply.
On April 17, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency published an interview with Kaploun where he reportedly "dismissed" Euractiv's report that the U.S. might ban politicians it perceived as antisemitic.
Kaploun instead was quoted as saying that "everybody is judged as an individual," and that anybody who wanted to "sow discord" or "ferment hate" was not welcome in the U.S. Kaploun also repeated a long-standing refrain by the administration of President Donald Trump that immigration to the U.S. is a privilege, not a right.
Social media used in more US visa approvals
The second Trump administration introduced social media screening for an expanding group of people who need permission to live in or enter the U.S. Some of these screenings specifically look for antisemitic social media activity. Proposed changes to some programs could affect people traveling for the World Cup.
In April 2025, DHS announced it would begin to consider "antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals" as grounds to refuse immigration benefits. Such benefits include citizenship and the right to live and work in the U.S.
The department listed expressing support for "Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, or Ansar Allah aka: 'the Houthis,'" as examples of extremist and antisemitic behavior.
In August 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it had updated its guidelines for how "anti-Americanism" or antisemitism could affect decision-making in immigration benefits applications. The new policy told border staff to consider involvement with "anti-American" or antisemitic organizations, groups or ideologies as an "overwhelmingly negative factor" (Page 2) when they decided whether they would grant immigration benefits.
The agency also said it would include social media vetting in more immigration benefits decisions.
In December 2025, DHS and Customs and Border Protection proposed changes to data collection for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. The program allows citizens from 42 nations that are part of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program to travel to the U.S. for business or tourism for 90 days. In their notice, DHS and CBP said they would require applicants to "provide their social media from the last 5 years" as part of ESTA applications.
The agencies said this change was necessary to comply with a Trump administration executive order. That order asked border forces to "vet and screen to the maximum degree possible" to ensure that people admitted to or already in the U.S. "do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security."
The Office of Management and Budget had not approved the proposed changes at the time of this writing. It was unclear whether they would come into force by the start of the World Cup in June 2026.
Of the 48 nations that qualified for the 2026 World Cup, 18 were part of the Visa Waiver Program. That meant their citizens would be subject to the DHS and CBP's suggested changes if the OMB approved them before the start of the tournament.
For further reading, Snopes has previously investigated claims related to Trump and FIFA.