The war between Israel, Hamas and Palestine in as much as has been a conflict about territorial supremacy and legitimacy, has rather given the internet a luxury to play at war and show how despicable humanity can be in taking an advantage of what coyly is a global crisis.
There stands the stipulation that with freedom of speech and expression, everyone has an opportunity to be heard and listened to, and of course, it wouldn’t be fair to disregard each person with their own opinion or narratives.
But when narratives, start to become malicious and with an agenda to influence public opinion and shape interests, one must have to ask the noble question; “Who can be trusted in this global age?”
It not only stops with those that can be trusted but how far can narratives be trusted? Are we getting the full story or are some facts being gatekept to suit identified interests?
The hostilities between Israel and Hamas and by extension, Palestine is by far a complicated one, yet heroes and villains have already been established, with varying stories concocted to either fit into said narratives or counter it.
The recent hostilities began with a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, leading to retaliatory strikes by Israel on the Gaza Strip.
The consequences have been devastating, with approximately 180,000 Palestinians left homeless and 2.3 million without access to electricity or water. Reports suggest that at least 1,200 Israelis and 1,200 Palestinians have lost their lives in the ongoing conflict.
Rights groups and researchers have raised concerns about the spread of misleading or unfounded claims on social media platforms. These include mislabeled images and manipulated documents designed to shape public perception.
European Union industry chief, Thierry Breton, has urged social media leaders Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg to take action against disinformation on their respective platforms, including X, Facebook, and Instagram, to align with new EU online content regulations.
Jack Brewster, an editor for NewsGuard, a news rating website and misinformation tracker, has identified four primary false narratives circulating on social media:
- False Flag Allegation: Some claim that the attack on Israel was a false flag operation orchestrated to wrongfully blame an adversary.
- Staging of Footage: Allegations circulate that Israel is fabricating footage showing dead children purportedly killed by Hamas.
- U.S. Aid Package: There are claims that the U.S. administration approved an $8 billion aid package for Israel.
- Ukraine Arms Sales: False reports suggest that Ukraine sold weapons to Hamas.
The Arab Center for Social Media Advancement, known as 7amleh, has also tracked misleading accounts, including claims of Jewish babies held captive in Gaza and instances of sexual abuse.
Disinformation can have a profound personal impact on families in the Middle East. For instance, a video on Elon Musk’s X platform claimed to show the 85-year-old Yaffa Adar, who was reportedly kidnapped from her home near the Gaza border. However, upon verification with her family, it was confirmed that the woman in the video was not Yaffa Adar.
One noteworthy change is the role of X (formerly Twitter) in spreading disinformation. Some users have presented video game footage as real events, and clips from unrelated events or wars have been shared, according to Brewster.
Other platforms, such as TikTok, have been used to circulate out-of-context videos. There has of course been instances of misleading content such as videos falsely claiming to depict Israeli officials captured by Hamas and Hamas militants paragliding into Israel.
Social media platforms, including X, YouTube, Snap, and Meta (owner of Instagram and Facebook), are grappling with moderating content during the crisis. These platforms are working to identify and remove disinformation and misleading content while providing context where necessary.
The primary objective of these false narratives is to shape public opinion, potentially justifying collective punishment and further escalating calls for violence. This misinformation also obscures human rights violations and hinders the pursuit of justice, while giving the conflict more room to linger and more lives to be taken.
