There is now a huge amount of material circulating on social media about the conflict between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas, which has turned into a war.
Pictures, videos and memes are being spread in the names of both parties. It can be difficult for the user to judge what is true and what is fiction.
Middle East media war expert Tapio Kujalan according to which propaganda is an essential part of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
– The communication apparatus of the Israeli army is extremely professional and coordinated, and communication is done in many languages. Its message is also supported by other state institutions. In the army, hundreds of professionals work on social media platforms alone. They have had a communication plan ready and are now implementing it.
The core of Israeli propaganda is that the events of World War II must not be repeated for the Jews. That is why Israel’s strength and the sovereignty of the Jewish state are emphasized, Kujala adds.
According to Kujala, the communication of the terrorist organization Hamas is unprofessional compared to Israel. Hamas’s message is mainly spread on social media in Arabic.
– Hamas’ communication is fragmented, which is why it is not clear what its official position is and who is delivering the messages. Because of this, it is also difficult to say what is Hamas’ share of the material circulating online. The biggest difference between Israeli and Hamas communication is that Israel does it with professionalism, which Hamas does not have at all.
The credibility of Israel’s and Hamas’s messages is significantly affected by how the parties to the war are defined. For example, the credibility of Hamas’s message is weakened by its status as a terrorist organization. From the perspective of the media consumer, it is thus easier to trust Israel’s message, says Kujala.
This article presents some of the most egregious examples of the kind of propaganda about the Gaza war that is spreading online.
Civilian distress is fuel for propaganda
In social media, for example, images and videos presented as journalistic material are spreading, which are claimed to tell about the events in Gaza.
According to Kujala, in reality, journalists cannot enter Gaza because Israel does not grant them permits.
– There are no eyewitnesses there who could provide us with independent information about the events in the Palestinian territories, says Kujala.
So not all the material spreading online has necessarily been filmed in Gaza this fall, even if the publisher of the material or the entity distributing it claims so.
1. Keep source criticism high.
2. Follow several different sources and read background articles in addition to news.
3. Don’t follow with emotion or you will easily draw wrong conclusions.
For example, after the conflict escalated on October 7, an X account posing as the Taliban’s communications department shared a video of a crying boy.
In the caption of the video, the Palestinian boy was allegedly mourning his siblings who died in an Israeli attack.
However, the video was not shot in Gaza but in Syria. The Taliban Public Relations Department, Commentary account that posted the video is allegedly a parody account. Nevertheless, the publication has been actively shared and commented on.
American news media CNN Arabic the service released a video in February 2014 of the Syrian government bombing rebel-held areas in Aleppo during the civil war
In wars, it is common for old material to be recycled to promote one’s own purposes, Kujala says.
Children and extreme violence are also used to smear and dehumanize the enemy.
– The streaks of blood on the face and the child’s suffering garner sympathy and empathy. Children’s pictures are intended for an international audience. They seek strong sympathy. The videos also aim to condemn the enemy, Kujala estimates.
According to Kujala, such material is used by both sides of the war.
Your superiority can be feigned
On October 8, videos of Hamas fighters paragliding across the border with Israel circulated on social media. At the time, Hamas claimed that its so-called paratroopers attacked Israel en masse
In fact, only individual Hamas fighters crossed the Israeli border on parachutes, news agencies have since reported. However, social media had already created an image of a large number of paratroopers.
Kujalan says that the purpose of the message depends on the sender, but in social media there is always uncertainty about the publisher of the video.
– Israel can use such a video as an example of a terrorist attack against civilians. Hamas could use the video as an example of its sophisticated fighting methods.
According to Kujala, Hamas wants to convey that it is capable of fighting Israel, and will not give up on it.
– Hamas wants to show that someone is taking the Palestinians’ cause forward. That is the main message of Hamas propaganda.
Game graphics can be used as propaganda material
Last week, footage of Hamas’s alleged new large-scale airstrike on Israel circulated on social media.
Although Hamas has repeatedly fired rockets into Israel, in the widely circulated video, the war situation is not real.
Actually, the video image is from a video game called Arma 3. Bohemia Interactive representative later confirmedthat the video game developed by the company was used in the material.
According to Kujala, an impressive-looking video can easily mislead if the viewer does not know the details of Hamas’ weaponry.
Kujala points out that Hamas does not have the rocket launchers visible in the video.
– The purpose of the video can be to show “power” or to create fear, Kujala states.
Misleading information hides the voices of the Palestinians
The recent fighting between Israel and Hamas has destroyed a huge amount of infrastructure, making it difficult for Gazan civilians to communicate with the outside world.
– When there is no electricity in Gaza, the telephone networks and the internet are down. It affects what kind of information it is possible to get from Gaza.
In addition, the varying amount of confirmed and independent information creates opportunities for the spread of disinformation and propaganda.
The terrorist organization Hamas and its supporters have been using social media platforms to spread anti-Semitic propaganda online for years.
Israeli director of the Fake Reporter organization that monitors disinformation Achiya Schatz evaluate For the Washington Post more recently, that internal Israeli polarization and widespread mistrust of the authorities has given rise to conspiracy theories.
Both Israel and Hamas have reportedly used bots – automated accounts that attempt to impersonate real people – in their propaganda. They are used, among other things, to spread misleading information.
An Israeli analyzing social media of the Cyabra company according to the accounts involved in discussions about the Israel-Hamas conflict, one in five is a bot.