A marketing slogan from the USA read: “God created man and woman, then Colonel Colt made them equal.” As the invention of the revolver in 1836, by Colt removed the deficiency that genetic variation bestowed upon individuals of a lighter frame. In a similar way the advent and popularisation of social media has levelled the playing field between the state, mainstream media and political activists of all persuasions’ ability to influence public opinion.
No doubt Zionists and their allies have a monopoly over traditional sources of information such as television, radio and print media, though their anti-Zionist adversaries have the herd and the facts at their advantage. “The herd”, as it is endearingly termed, is the chaotic assembly of the world’s internet activists and amateur sleuths that occupy the digital space.
In parallel to the Israeli assault on the Gaza strip a war is being fought for the sympathies of the general public especially that which resides in the west, a war that is now coming to 8 months. The defeat is such that David Saranga the director of the digital diplomacy bureau of the Israeli foreign ministry deemed social media as a strategic threat.[1]
The reasons for this defeat become abundantly clear with the following example.
As global opposition mounted to the wanton killing, destruction and scorched earth policies adopted by the Israelis, in an almost blitzkrieg-like manoeuvre, the New York times published an article titled ‘Screams Without Words: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7’, by Anat Schwartz. The story gained traction with the majority of the western mainstream media and galvanised support for Israel across a broad spectrum of the western political establishment. This was despite the glaringly obvious contradiction of why a highly disciplined force like Hamas, which is reliant upon the sympathy of the world, would allow such atrocities. The herd was sceptical, it used a plethora of means and methods available on the internet to check, verify and then highlight discrepancies in the official account, becoming a litmus test for the credibility of western mainstream media.
The initial concern were the authors views and impartiality, her liking of a tweet by David Mizrahy Verthaim where he calls for the wholesale slaughter of Gaza’s civilian raised eyebrows and warranted further investigation.[2] Upon further investigation it transpired that she was in fact an Israeli Air force intelligence officer who had been assigned to the New York times to work with fellow Jewish journalist Jeffrey Gettleman to produce a report on sexual violence during the Hamas led attack on Israel. The herd smelt a rat, and Schwartz was shown to be a plant, an individual specifically employed to push the Israeli narrative and justify Israeli atrocities.[3]
The exposure of Schwartz as an Israeli intelligence officer spurred the creation of amateur but effective methods to check the veracity of claims made in the article. October 7 fact check,[4] Mondoweis and number of other organisations began to flag inconsistencies and contradictions in the stories told in the Times article. Slowly but surely the claims made by Schwartz slowly began to unravel in a process of a death from a thousand cuts each and every claim made in the article was categorically shown to be false. The venerable New York Times has been shown to be complicit in a orchestrated campaign to falsely draw parallels between Hamas and ISIS.[5]
The venerable New York Times has been shown to be complicit in a orchestrated campaign to falsely draw parallels between Hamas and ISIS
From systemic rape to beheaded babies every atrocity alleged by Israel has been shown to be not only to be untrue but systematically fabricated.[6] Not to be out done, the shenanigans at the BBC have also provoked the Ire of many. Israelis are “killed”, Palestinians simply “die”, Israelis are “shot”, bullets “enter the bodies” of Palestinians, the bias in the language used by the BBC has even been flagged by its own journalist.[7,8]
The New York Times article in question with the depth of bias and the obvious fabrication has almost single handily destroyed the credibility of western news institutions who were once regarded as bastions of independence and truth. No doubt the first casualty of war is the truth and warring sides will always attempt to control the narrative. But if one is going to concoct a lie it has to be at the very least plausible in some shape or form. In a world where every place is instantly connected to everywhere else and phones with video capabilities previously only available to professionals proliferating, sustaining a lie can be difficult in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
The Israelis also contributed significantly to their own failure. Previously, a politician may have vented his spleen to a domestic audience safe in the knowledge that his or her rant will rarely or in fact never find its way to a wider international audience. They failed to recognise that in the age of universal social media connectivity the dichotomy between what is said for domestic consumption and what is palatable to an international audience has been eroded and in essence eliminated. With social media there is no separation between the domestic and the international. As a result, Israeli society is exposed as a deeply racist and fascist society[9, 10] not only to Arabs and Palestinians but to Africans and even Jews from non European backgrounds. Recent videos of Jewish boys spitting on Christian pilgrims and a deluge of racist and fascist social media posts from all strata of Israeli society have opened a previously closed window on the racist nature of Israeli society.[11] Israel’s adversaries have not wasted the opportunity presented by such an own goal.
With social media there is no separation between the domestic and the international
Law for Palestine, a youth led non-profit human rights organisation compiled a list of over 500 instances of Israeli politicians, army personnel, decision makers legislators and intelligentsia making statements encouraging genocide and violence against civilians some of the statements are listed below.[12]
Yoav Gallant, Israel’s minister of defence stated “I am saying here to the citizens of Lebanon, I already see the citizens in Gaza walking with white flags along the coast… If Hezbollah makes mistakes of this kind, the ones who will pay the price are first of all the citizens of Lebanon. What we are doing in Gaza, we know how to do in Beirut.”
Issac Herzog said “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible. This rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved, it’s absolutely not true. They could’ve risen up, they could have fought against that evil regime.”
These statements have not gone unnoticed; social media magnifies all voices. Intoxicated by their own sense of invincibility, Israelis have severely misjudged the changing generational attitudes. While the boomer generation may have given unfettered support to Israel and tolerated or even endorsed the racist attitudes of Israelis youth, the rest of the worlds younger and increasingly socially active individuals and groups are appalled by these attitudes.[13] Even former and serving US politicians and administrators are increasingly beginning to see expressing support for Israel as more of a liability than an asset.[14]
Social media has exposed the widening chasm between Israel and the rest of the world. As attitudes in Israel veer further towards the right from an already extreme position, it is becoming apparent that the up and coming generation may not by necessity support a US intervention to save a fascist and racist state.
On the other hand, despite Israel’s loss in the information war, Palestinians and their supporters have not been able to capitalise on their gain. Translating public opinion into tangible gains requires the support of political authorities and militaries.
[1] See, https://twitter.com/DavidSaranga/status/1771862127445225691/photo/2
[2] See, https://twitter.com/zei_squirrel/status/1761249450998022442?t=S2SeunXz7qXWOdOHUxDn4g
[3] Should we be surprised to see Israel’s IDF working in our media? — Kernow Damo (buymeacoffee.com)
[4] October 7 Fact Check (oct7factcheck.com)
[5] Israel says Hamas ‘is ISIS.’ But it’s not. – The Washington Post
[6] Baby repeatedly stabbed and thrown in the trash (oct7factcheck.com)
[7] War on Gaza: How language used by media outlets downplays Palestinian suffering | Middle East Eye
[8] BBC staff accuse broadcaster of bias over Gaza war reporting (newarab.com)
[9] The Rise of the Right Wing in Israel : Throughline : NPR
[10] Israel’s Rightward Shift (csis.org)
[12] About Us – Law for Palestine (law4palestine.org)
[13] Why younger Americans are more likely to support Palestinians – The Washington Post
