In 2026, there was an onslaught of social media posts claiming that Argentina was preparing to accommodate 300,000 Israeli refugees in Patagonia. The supposed development even had a name…Barrio Privado Josué, Profeta de Israel. It was supposedly going to be in an area of 100,000 hectares, and there was a supposed government file number: AR-MOPU-ISR-0426-7781.
Argentine journalists searched for the file and couldn’t find it. The number didn’t match the country’s administrative filing system, and parts of the supposed development site fell within protected areas. Argentina’s government and the Israeli Embassy denied any knowledge of the project. There was no verified approval, no construction site, and no documentation establishing that the development existed. And…there wasn’t a sudden influx of 300,000 Israelis. Ever.
One version reportedly attracted approximately 750,000 views and 23,000 likes on X. An imaginary settlement had become supposed proof of an Israeli territorial takeover, complete with official-looking paperwork that nobody could authenticate.
The story drew on Plan Andinia, a conspiracy theory alleging that Jews intend to seize Patagonia and establish another Jewish state. It has circulated in Argentine extremist circles since the 1960s. In 2026, the accusation was being promoted with fabricated documents, manipulated videos, and maps that made unrelated events look like parts of a coordinated operation.
On May 7, Mexican fact-checking outlet Verificado published an investigation into a map titled Expansión del Sionismo en Latinoamérica. The graphic displayed Israeli flags over Mexico and Patagonia and identified three supposed Jewish territorial projects, complete with names and dates.
The first was Ciudad de la Torá, a residential community proposed in 2021 for observant Jews in Ixtapan de la Sal, Mexico. The proposal was genuine, although Verificado found no confirmation that construction had been completed or the development opened. The second was La Nueva Israel, supposedly scheduled for 2037. That project came from speculative fiction. The third was Plan Andinia, the longstanding conspiracy alleging that Jews intend to establish another Jewish state in Patagonia.
The map was generated using Google’s Gemini, according to Verificado. Someone had combined a real housing proposal, an imaginary settlement from a novel, and an antisemitic conspiracy theory, presenting all three as a coordinated plan for Jewish territorial expansion.
The Mexican housing proposal made the graphic believable. Anyone searching for Ciudad de la Torá could find information about it. The fictional development and Plan Andinia benefited from appearing beside something that could be independently confirmed.
Plan Andinia has circulated since the 1960s, when Argentine far-right circles promoted allegations of a Jewish plan to seize Patagonia. Walter Beveraggi Allende helped popularize the conspiracy in 1971, and Chilean neo-Nazi Miguel Serrano later promoted similar claims. Israeli backpackers visiting southern Argentina were accused of scouting territory. Jewish property owners became alleged participants in a coordinated land-buying operation.
In January 2026, wildfires in Patagonia produced another variation. Online posts accused Israeli tourists of deliberately starting fires so Jewish investors could purchase the damaged land. A manipulated video made it appear that actor Mel Gibson had exposed a conspiracy involving Argentine President Javier Milei and Israeli investors. Fact-checkers identified artificially generated audio in the footage.
The invented 300,000-person settlement followed in the spring. Journalists at ADNSUR, whose investigation appeared in Chequeado, traced its circulation through posts associated with Pedro Vissio, an article by Nicolás Hourclé, and remarks by Gastón Alberdi. Hourclé told reporters he had relied on statements from residents and political figures. Alberdi claimed an unnamed source connected to real estate company IRSA had told him about an earlier proposal. IRSA didn’t respond to the journalists’ inquiry.
No verified project emerged from those claims. Yet… that accusation had acquired something more useful to its promoters than an actual construction permit: a story people were willing and eager to circulate.
