A self-described association of genocide scholars that garnered widespread media attention for declaring Israel is committing genocide in Gaza has shuttered its social media account and removed its membership directory after investigations showed it operates more like a pay-to-play organization than an exclusive academic institution.

The International Association of Genocide Scholars bills itself as a “global, interdisciplinary, non-partisan organization that seeks to further research and teaching” on genocide. The group was thrust into the spotlight Monday when it passed a resolution stating that Israel’s “policies and actions” in Gaza “meet the legal definition of genocide.”

Major media outlets quickly amplified the declaration, presenting the organization as an authoritative scholarly body. “Israel committing genocide in Gaza, world’s leading experts say,” a BBC headline proclaimed. “Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, leading scholars’ association says,” the Washington Post stated. Similar characterizations appeared in the New York Times, PBS News, CNN, and other prominent outlets.  

However, the group’s credibility unraveled within 24 hours when journalist Salo Aizenberg, who serves on the board of media watchdog HonestReporting, made a startling discovery. Mr. Aizenberg found he could join the ranks of these supposed “genocide scholars” for merely $30 — with no background verification or credentials screening whatsoever.

“It turns out literally anyone can join this body and vote on matters that make international headlines — like the resolution claiming Israel is committing genocide,” Mr. Aizenberg wrote online. He noted that approximately 80 of the group’s roughly 600 members listed Iraq as their location. 

Mr. Aizenberg’s disclosure prompted scores of pro-Israel commentators and influencers to test the association’s membership barriers. One user successfully registered under the name “Adolf Hitler” and gained access to the association’s women’s caucus and indigenous caucus. Another created an account for a dog and listed the “Barkings Institute” as an institutional affiliation. 

“The more you learn about it, the International Association of Genocide Scholars has about the same scholarly authority as the International House of Pancakes,” quipped a human rights attorney, Hillel Neuer, the executive director of a prominent NGO watchdog group, UN Watch. 

The International Association of Genocide Scholars defended its member qualifications by stating, “Our organization has always been open to academics as well as civil society practitioners, policymakers, and all sorts of other people who are invested in the research and understanding and the prevention of genocide.” By Wednesday, however, the association had deactivated its profile on X and shut down the public members directory previously listed on its website. 

The BBC, the Washington Post, the New York Times, PBS News, CNN, and other outlets that characterized the group as an authoritative body have not altered their reporting. None have responded to requests for comment from the Sun.

Beyond concerns about the association’s membership policies, critics also questioned the resolution’s voting methodology. While the organization’s president claimed the measure passed with 86 percent support — describing it as an “overwhelming majority” representing “really representative opinion” of experts — only 28 percent of members actually participated in the vote. This means just 108 individuals out of approximately 600 members voted in favor of the resolution.

Others poked holes in the credibility of the resolution’s sources. A nonprofit executive and Holocaust expert, Sara Brown, who used to sit on the board of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, condemned the organization for relying on activists groups with known anti-Israel bias. 

“There was no original research cited in this work,” Ms. Brown told Jewish Insider. “They cited Amnesty International, that had to rewrite their definition of genocide to accuse Israel. They cite [United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories] Francesca Albanese who is renowned as an antisemite called out by numerous governments. They cite Human Rights Watch, which has been known to be anti-Israel for a long time.”

The International Association of Genocide Scholars has not yet responded to the Sun’s request for comment on its membership vetting process or recent social media shutdown. 

The controversy caught the attention of a former Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, who characterized the situation as an “incredible little story.”

“A group touted in the media (BBC, Reuters, and more) as the world’s ‘leading experts’ on genocide turns out to actually be a group of random internet trolls from Iraq,” Mr. Bennett wrote online. “This scam is the kind of ‘scholarship’ Israel’s enemies are relying on.”