The Independent

FACT FOCUS: Discovery of a tunnel at a Chabad synagogue spurs false claims and conspiracy theories

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

News of a brawl between police and worshippers on Monday over a secret underground tunnel found connected to a historic Brooklyn synagogue was picked up quickly on social media, with posts spreading baseless claims about the passage, many laced with antisemitism.

The conflict at the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in , which serves as the center of an influential Hasidic movement, began when a cement truck arrived to seal the tunnel’s opening. Proponents of the tunnel then staged a protest and ripped off the wooden called to the scene ultimately arrested nine people.

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