A report by the BBC shows that Palestinian supporters are using fake images to illustrate the suffering in Gaza.
A significant part of any battle nowadays is waged in the media, as each sides tries to garner public support through the exploit of images and footage used to influence popular opinion. A report by the BBC shows that Hamas in Gaza is wasting no time in the current round of violence and has already begun to generate the imagery they use in their media battle, misrepresenting the facts.
“Graphic images are being shared on social media to show how people have been affected by the renewed tensions between Israel and the Palestinians,” the BBC reported.
According to the BBC, this photo was taken in Aleppo in Syria and not in Gaza.
“Over the past week the hashtag #GazaUnderAttack has been used hundreds of thousands of times, often to distribute pictures claiming to show the effects of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.”
The hashtag has received 375,000 retweets in eight days.
The network found that several graphic photos, which spread through social media in recent days, purporting to show killed Gazans and destruction caused by IAF strikes, were actually photos taken several years ago, some in other war areas like Syria and Iraq.
“BBC Trending,” a show that examines trends in social media, checked the veracity of widely spread photos on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with the hashtag #GazaUnderAttack.
The British broadcaster also spoke to one of the posters who shared a photo under the #GazaUnderAttack, even though the photo was taken in Syria. “I deleted one of my posts that has the image in there,” she said. “It’s disappointing that images get shared quite quickly. I guess that’s the different between the internet and credible newspaper publisher where pictures are from a source.”
A Ynet examination found that photos that are not from the IDF’s current Gaza operation are still being shared on Twitter.
A search of the hashtag found a photo of two men rescuing a boy severely wounded in IAF bombings with the caption “The world is silent as Israel wipes out Gaza with airstrikes. Another kid, one of many, says goodbye.” with the #GazaUnderAttack hashtag.
Author: Aryeh Savir, Tazpit News Agency (With files from Ynet)