A network of former intelligence operatives has woven itself into the fabric of right-wing alternative media, amplifying anti-Muslim scare narratives that appear aimed at countering a noted decline in conservative support for Israel since October 7, 2023. Central to this effort is Sarah Adams, a figure promoting conspiracies about a supposed Palestinian-linked Al-Qaeda plot against the West.

On December 12, 2024, Adams appeared on the Shawn Ryan Show for a two-hour interview that quickly amassed over 2.5 million views on YouTube. Shorter excerpts have gained further traction across social media platforms.

The central theme of Adams’s podcast appearance is her assertion that Al-Qaeda is planning a series of large-scale attacks on civilian targets in the West, claiming the Hamas-led October 7 attack was “only the beginning.” She elaborates on the alleged threats while positioning herself as a Pentagon critic, accusing the U.S. government of ignoring its own intelligence.

Throughout the interview, Adams frequently references Hamas, often in contexts where the connection seems tenuous, reinforcing the conflation of disparate narratives under a singular alarmist frame. She even attempted to connect Hamas to the 9/11 attacks, hearkening back to the days leading up to the Iraq War, when fantastic claims were made without being challenged and tenuous connections promoted as evidence of the pressing threats against Americans.

“Al-Qaeda found the building 7 conspiracy stuff fascinating,” Adams claims, referencing theories that question the events surrounding the September 11 attacks. She elaborates, stating, “They [Al-Qaeda] actually had discussions on how we can do ruses and bring in the building 7 people to blame their government more. So they are actually looking at our conspiracies and targeting those people for the homeland attack. Basically, those people almost back Al-Qaeda, as ‘revolutionaries’ and ‘rebels’ and ‘heroes’ against our government, kind of like how the Hamas supporters do it.”

A former CIA contractor, Shawn Ryan has built his own reputation for entertaining provocative and often unsubstantiated claims. Earlier in January, he interviewed another ex-intelligence officer who made another unsubstantiated and outlandish claim: that Iranian missiles had been smuggled into the United States.

 

A Recycled Narrative

Both Sarah Adams and Shawn Ryan are riding a new wave of anti-Muslim frenzy reminiscent of the lead-up to so-called the first War on Terror that has taken hold across social media. Adams, a former CIA operative elevated to the status of a whistleblower, has positioned herself as a harbinger of warning for the West, claiming to expose an alleged Al-Qaeda plot with Palestinian ties.

Ryan, who recently appeared on the Joe Rogan Podcast, is a conservative, conspiracy-leaning commentator critical of the U.S. government. During his conversation with Rogan, Ryan remarked, “My podcast was started with all my former colleagues,” as part of a broader point about the consensus within the military and intelligence community that the Iraq War was a disaster. The exchange caught wider attention when it was shared on X by none other than its CEO, Elon Musk.

Adams, meanwhile, has embraced her role as a self-styled whistleblower, amplifying her message on the Tudor Dixon Podcast on January 9. Dixon, a conservative commentator with frequent appearances on Fox News and Newsmax, provided another stage for Adams’s alarmist claims. While her statements often veer into the explosive and outlandish, her central assertion remains consistent: that the U.S. government is ignoring the presence of thousands of Al-Qaeda militants allegedly embedded within the United States.

A former Secret Service agent, Scott Bryson, emerged suddenly in the aftermath of the New Year’s Day car-ramming attack in New Orleans and the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas, posting a video urging viewers to heed Adams’s warnings. “I think it’s here,” Bryson concluded ominously. Though relatively unknown, Bryson recently launched a show called “Beyond the Service.” His video gained traction after being shared by prominent conservative Trump supporter Juanita Broaddrick, amassing 6.8 million views on X (formerly Twitter).

“They are going to get the same October 7 attack in Europe as we’re getting in the U.S.,” Adams claims, pushing her conspiracy linking Hamas to a plot involving Al-Qaeda operatives planning “multi-coordinated attacks” across the West. Adams repeatedly intertwines her narrative about the alleged planned attacks with references to October 7, suggesting an alliance between Hamas and Al-Qaeda.

Adams also alleges that Al-Qaeda was aware of the October 7  attack in advance and asserts it was merely the opening act in a broader series of planned assaults against the West. She goes so far as to claim that Hamas trained in Afghanistan to prepare for its assault on Israel. These allegations are presented without evidence, and notably, even the Israeli government has not made such claims.

Adams has built a reputation on outlandish and unsubstantiated claims, including her assertion that Al-Qaeda’s special forces are more advanced than the Taliban’s—a claim entirely devoid of evidence. This penchant for hyperbole was on full display in a July 13, 2024, tweet, where she attempted to link Mohammed Deif, the elusive commander of Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades, to Al-Qaeda.

“Important to note—Deif was also a close associate of the now-deceased 2012 #CIAAnnex in #Benghazi mastermind #WissamBinHumaid,” she wrote. “Yes, the #terrorist responsible for the deaths of our brothers Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. Prior to his death and according to Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida Wissam was one of the top weapons suppliers to the Al-Qassem Brigades”[sic].

The assertion is, at best, an elaborate stretch. Abu Obaida, the spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades, never made such a statement publically, and there is no credible evidence linking him to Al-Qaeda. Deif himself remains a shadowy figure, so enigmatic that only two known photographs of him exist. Compounding the absurdity, Hamas has actively suppressed Al-Qaeda’s influence in Gaza, making the purported alliance fantastical at best.

Even the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a bastion of neoconservative thought, and a reliable proponent of Israeli interests, doesn’t partake in such dangerous speculation. WINEP, who was instrumental in manufacturing public consent for the Iraq war, has argued that Al-Qaeda has sought to exploit the Gaza crisis for propaganda purposes but stops short of claiming any partnership between Hamas and Al-Qaeda. Adams’s rhetoric is more extreme than even the most hawkish think tanks. Yet, because she packages her conspiracies under the guise of government critique, she can grant her assertions a false veneer of credibility.

 

Who is Sarah Adams?

Far from being the “outsider” or ex-CIA “whistleblower” she markets herself as, Adams has a well-documented history within the U.S. government. Under the Biden administration, she worked as a Program Analyst for the Air Force, where her role focused on the Concepts, Development, and Management Office’s Intelligence Systems Support Office (ISSO).

To this day, Adams remains firmly tied to government work. Given the rising skepticism among Republicans about U.S. foreign aid, with 42% believing the government is providing too much assistance to Ukraine, it is unlikely that Adams’ conservative audience is aware that she not only served as Chief of Operations for the Ukraine NGO Coordination Network (UNCN) but also serves as Vice President of Ukraine Operations at Heart of an Ace Inc.

Adams’s professional connections further complicate the narrative of her as an independent whistleblower. She is an advisor to Metis Analytics, a predictive geospatial intelligence company specializing in threat detection. Notably, the company’s purchase page features an image of the Gaza Strip. Metis Analytics maintains a partnership with Fox2sierra, a security consulting firm headquartered in Tel Aviv, San Antonio, and New York. The firm is led by Israel “Izzy” Fried, a former Israeli soldier who has openly voiced support for Tel Aviv’s ongoing war against Gaza.

Fox2sierra’s activities extend to providing services to the illegal West Bank settlement of Barkan. A LinkedIn post by Fried about the firm’s work in the settlement even tagged Adams. Adams is also a Senior Consultant for Wolf Global, a crisis management legal firm whose president touts recognition from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) among his accolades. Adams’s affiliations paint a portrait not of a detached government critic but of an active participant in a network deeply entwined with U.S. and Israeli intelligence and security interests. Notably, despite her access to government intelligence circles, Adams provides no sources for her claims; her information is disseminated solely on the strength of her credentials. Moreover, she is propped up within a network of media personalities, nearly all of whom maintain ties to government agencies and private security firms.

Her oddly specific warnings about alleged Al-Qaeda conspiracies and the supposed number of militants involved raise important questions. If she genuinely possessed detailed intelligence about such a large-scale operation—allegedly beginning with the October 7, 2023, attack—would her public disclosures not alert the militants that their plans had already been exposed to U.S. intelligence? Such revelations seem counterintuitive if the threat were as imminent and coordinated as she claims.

The content Adams promotes appears to be strategically tailored for a conservative audience in the United States, a demographic historically more inclined to support foreign interventions when framed as responses to threats against American security. This approach mirrors the messaging seen in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, where fear played a central role in garnering public approval for the war.

Yet the public’s trust in major media outlets has eroded significantly as their credibility and influence continue to wane. Increasingly, audiences are turning to social media platforms to find information they perceive as more reliable. The rise of X (formerly Twitter) as the top global news app reflects this shift. According to the Pew Research Center, Republicans and younger Americans are now as likely to trust social media as traditional broadcast news. Simultaneously, the Gaza war has contributed to a decline in support for Israel across the political spectrum.

Media outlets that once shaped public opinion during Washington’s “War on Terror,” providing legitimacy to an otherwise unpopular war, now face declining trust. Yet, their past effectiveness cannot be denied. A month before the invasion of Iraq, 83% of Republicans and 52% of Democrats supported the war. By 2019, a majority of Americans had come to believe the war was not worth waging.

There is no question that media complicity in promoting falsehoods—such as Saddam Hussein’s alleged ties to al-Qaeda and supposed stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction—played a central role in generating public support for the invasion. Today, these outlets, often labeled by alternative media voices as “legacy media,” no longer command the public trust they once enjoyed. Ironically, the tactics once weaponized by corporate media appear to have simply been retooled for “new media” platforms.

Feature photo |Illustration by MintPress News

Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and hosts the show ‘Palestine Files’. Director of ‘Steal of the Century: Trump’s Palestine-Israel Catastrophe’. Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47

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