Propaganda war rages on
Social media intensifies battle for public opinion
JERUSALEM — Beyond the boom of Israeli air strikes and the stream of rockets fired from Gaza, Israel and Hamas are also battling to control the message emanating from this latest Israeli-Palestinian conflagration.
Using videos, Twitter, text messages, leaflets and phone calls, both sides have attempted to direct the tone of the fighting — for their own public, their opponent’s population and for a global audience. Propaganda and psychological warfare are nothing new in battle, but technology and social media have exponentially increased the ability of each side to penetrate their intended audiences.
Each side has sought to tip the moral scale in its favour with an international audience. Israel has tried to make its case that it is defending its citizens from unprovoked attacks but taking steps to avoid killing civilians. Hamas has appealed to the world by pointing to the high civilian death toll from Israel’s onslaught on Gaza.
Israel and Hamas are each addressing the other’s populations as well.
Israel has pushed the message to Palestinians in Gaza that Hamas rul- ers are to blame for the bloodshed. In phone calls the military makes to Gazans to tell them to evacuate their homes before a strike, the recorded script also tells them that Hamas is using them as human shields.
Hamas, in turn, has sent text mes- sages directly to Israelis, warning them the group will continue firing rockets at them until its demands — like the end of the long-stifling blockade of the tiny Gaza Strip — are met.
“This is a war over public opinion,” said Yuval Dror, an expert in digital communications. “It’s an inseparable part of battle in the modern age.”
Canada’s recently appointed ambassador to Israel, Vivian Bercovici, has tweeted her own views and descriptions of events in the conflict, as well as repeating Canada’s official views of the conflict.
Israel says it launched the war on July 8 in response to rocket fire out of Hamas-controlled Gaza. By mid-day Wednesday, at least 695 Palestinians and 34 Israelis were reported to have been killed in fighting that escalated last week with the start of a ground offensive. The war over hearts and minds has been just as dramatic.
Israel’s military has posted more than 40 videos online since the conflict began, an onslaught of footage aimed at portraying its citizens as under threat from Hamas attacks.
Hamas quickly countered with its own videos, presenting the same message from the other side.