Posted on Oct 15, 2023
Who's behind Israel-Gaza disinformation and hate online?
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Social media has been awash with false claims, conspiracy theories and hateful content surrounding what's happening in Israel and Gaza - and questions over whether inauthentic accounts are being used to manipulate the conversation.
As violence unfolds on the ground, I've been looking into who is behind this.
When I opened up my TikTok For You Page earlier this week, I was met with a video showing a young Israeli woman being taken hostage by Hamas fighters on 7 October. The footage was shocking.
When I scrolled through the comments, the reaction was not what I expected.
While some were distressed by the post, other users falsely suggested this footage was not what it seemed.
They said the woman in it is "not a civilian" but a soldier, or that the clips had been staged to frame Hamas.
Some claimed there's no evidence the group have acted violently towards hostages.
The clip, which has been verified by the BBC, shows a young woman covered in blood being pushed into a car by armed men. It was filmed on the outskirts of Gaza City in Sheijia.
I scrolled through several more videos and posts about hostages on other social media sites and spotted similar comments.
Israeli people are subject to compulsory national service - but evidence suggests many of those taken hostage by Hamas are civilians, like the people featured in these videos. The hostages include festival-goers and children.
Disinformation is not limited to accounts seeking to undermine violence against hostages, either. Profiles supporting the actions of the Israeli government have also shared misleading and hateful content.
As violence unfolds on the ground, I've been looking into who is behind this.
When I opened up my TikTok For You Page earlier this week, I was met with a video showing a young Israeli woman being taken hostage by Hamas fighters on 7 October. The footage was shocking.
When I scrolled through the comments, the reaction was not what I expected.
While some were distressed by the post, other users falsely suggested this footage was not what it seemed.
They said the woman in it is "not a civilian" but a soldier, or that the clips had been staged to frame Hamas.
Some claimed there's no evidence the group have acted violently towards hostages.
The clip, which has been verified by the BBC, shows a young woman covered in blood being pushed into a car by armed men. It was filmed on the outskirts of Gaza City in Sheijia.
I scrolled through several more videos and posts about hostages on other social media sites and spotted similar comments.
Israeli people are subject to compulsory national service - but evidence suggests many of those taken hostage by Hamas are civilians, like the people featured in these videos. The hostages include festival-goers and children.
Disinformation is not limited to accounts seeking to undermine violence against hostages, either. Profiles supporting the actions of the Israeli government have also shared misleading and hateful content.
Who's behind Israel-Gaza disinformation and hate online?
Posted from bbc.com
Social Media
Israel
Palestine
Conspiracy Theories
Posted 7 mo ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Pressure on social media sites
Social media sites have been widely criticised over the spread of disinformation this week. The EU is investigating X over the possible spread of terrorist and violent content, and hate speech.
Former Twitter (X) employees have previously told me how the company is no longer able to protect against state-co-ordinated disinformation following layoffs under new owner Elon Musk.
Ray Serrato, who tackled state-sanctioned campaigns at the social media company, told me how his former team was "decimated" after the takeover.
According to him, that means a number of key experts who "covered special regions" - including in the Middle East - and whose job it was to deal with specific co-ordinated disinformation operations, are no longer at the company.
X has not responded to the BBC's request for comment. The social media site this week said it had removed hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts from the platform.
In TikTok's Community Guidelines, the company says it has "increased dedicated resources to help prevent violent, hateful, or misleading content on TikTok" in relation to the current situation.
The way that disinformation spreads on X, TikTok and other platforms can shape the general public's view of the situation in both Gaza and Israel.
That in turn could also put pressure on the politicians making big decisions about what's unfolding."
..."Pressure on social media sites
Social media sites have been widely criticised over the spread of disinformation this week. The EU is investigating X over the possible spread of terrorist and violent content, and hate speech.
Former Twitter (X) employees have previously told me how the company is no longer able to protect against state-co-ordinated disinformation following layoffs under new owner Elon Musk.
Ray Serrato, who tackled state-sanctioned campaigns at the social media company, told me how his former team was "decimated" after the takeover.
According to him, that means a number of key experts who "covered special regions" - including in the Middle East - and whose job it was to deal with specific co-ordinated disinformation operations, are no longer at the company.
X has not responded to the BBC's request for comment. The social media site this week said it had removed hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts from the platform.
In TikTok's Community Guidelines, the company says it has "increased dedicated resources to help prevent violent, hateful, or misleading content on TikTok" in relation to the current situation.
The way that disinformation spreads on X, TikTok and other platforms can shape the general public's view of the situation in both Gaza and Israel.
That in turn could also put pressure on the politicians making big decisions about what's unfolding."
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