Veronica Neifakh reports [1] on the significant impact of social media on public opinion during the ongoing Gaza conflict. Since Hamas’ attacks on October 7, Israel has faced a fierce information war on platforms like Instagram and X. Pro-Palestinian campaigns, boosted by bot farms from Iran, China, and Russia, have gained massive traction, with posts like “All Eyes on Rafah” reaching millions. The hashtag #FreePalestine has outpaced pro-Israel hashtags by 80%. Israel’s government has responded with content removal requests and heavy investments in monitoring bot activity.
Experts like cybersecurity entrepreneur Roman Kaplun and Israeli politics blogger Ezra Mor reveal the scale of the coordinated cyberattacks against Israel. They note that automated bots are heavily used to spread anti-Israel sentiment, significantly shaping public consciousness. Tel Aviv University’s Asa Shapiro highlights how emotional appeals in pro-Palestinian campaigns drive higher engagement. Conversely, Palestinian influencer Mohammad Saba’aneh argues that the Palestinian narrative is often misrepresented and insists that widespread support for Palestine is genuine, not driven by bots.
To gain a deeper understanding of how social media is influencing perceptions in the Gaza conflict and the steps being taken to combat misinformation, read the full article [1] by Veronica Neifakh on The Media Line.