War In The Time Of Social Media
Social Media Misinformation Spreads Amid Israel-Hamas War
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An auction is underway for the late Barbara Walters’ belongings. An icon to women in journalism, she died at the age of 93 last December.
From decor in her Upper East Side apartment to her jewelry, items are up for grabs! You can take a look here.
We accept mementos of the legendary journalist at Mo News 🎁
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🗞 A NEW ERA OF WAR COVERAGE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA
As the Israel-Hamas war extends into its third week, millions are turning to social media as a source for what’s happening. But with that, there are ample openings for disinformation, conspiracy theories and propaganda, creating “a dangerous threat to public debates about the war.”
Users are seeking out raw, unfiltered accounts.
The platforms’ algorithms are creating a loop of information.
HAMAS SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Hamas is using social media to communicate with the outside world. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have removed Hamas’s official account from their platforms because the U.S. government labels the group as a terrorist organization. But until this month, Hamas remained a presence on the platform Telegram, which has little to no moderation. It then relies on surrogates to share anti-Israel content on the popular apps TikTok and Instagram.
Hamas began its social media push during the October 7th massacre itself— when terrorists stormed southern Israel and live-streamed their slaughter with GoPros of more than 1,400 people in Israel. A number of the hostages and dead were identified in videos posted to TikTok and other platforms uploaded by Hamas and its allies.
Once Israel began airstrikes in Gaza, the terrorist group started to push out images of civilian casualties.
Hamas is trying to present itself as the voice of Palestinian suffering while also asserting itself as a dominant resistance movement in the Middle East.
ISRAEL STRATEGY
For its part, Israel is also trying to win the information war.
It showed journalists — the first writers of history — 44 minutes of raw footage of the Hamas attack, as some people had already started to deny it happened.
Israel is also pushing dozens of ads containing brutal imagery of the deadly militant violence in Israel across platforms such as X and YouTube.
Israeli government and military social media pages are also posting videos showing how they are trying to target Hamas and avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, as well as challenge western media and influencers who they say are carrying water for the terror group.
Via Axios
THE SOCIAL MEDIA WAR
So far, it appears that Israel is losing the social media war on a few platforms. The hashtag #StandwithPalestine had nearly 4 times the number of views globally compared to posts with #StandwithIsrael in the past two weeks, according to data from TikTok — which says it has more than 1 billion monthly active users.
Globally: 210,000 posts used #StandwithPalestine and 17,000 used #StandwithIsrael.
#StandwithPalestine is most popular in Malaysia, followed by Pakistan, the UAE, and Bahrain.
#StandwithIsrael is most popular in Israel, followed by Malaysia, Greece, Lithuania and Croatia.
87% of the users posting #StandwithPalestine are under 35, compared to 66% of the audience makeup for #StandwithIsrael.
Why it matters: As Axios notes: “While TikTok isn't a proxy for understanding global perspectives around the war, it does provide a unique window into how young users on TikTok are engaging with posts about the conflict.”
🧵 This is a good thread to explain the issue:
TIKTOK IN THE DOG HOUSE
Members of Congress, some Hollywood stars, and wealthy tech investors are voicing concerns about TikTok’s content moderation & all-knowing algorithm. TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
30+ entertainers — including Amy Schumer, Debra Messing, and Brett Gelman — signed a letter saying TikTok has failed to address “rampant antisemitism” that has put the public figures in “digital and physical danger.”
Critics allege TikTok is using its influence to push content that is pro-Palestinian and contrary to U.S. foreign policy interests.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a longtime critic of TikTok because of its ties to China, renewed her call for a ban.
For its part, TikTok says it bans content from “violent political organizations” such as Hamas, and that hateful ideologies, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, have no place on its platform.
Source: Pew Research Center
EU TAKES ON BIG TECH
European Union officials sent warnings to TikTok, Facebook and Instagram-parent Meta, YouTube and X, highlighting reports of misleading content about the war on their platforms. The companies could face billions of dollars in fines if an investigation determines they violated EU content moderation laws.
PLATFORMS SILENCING VOICES?
Some social media users are accusing the world’s largest platforms – Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok – of censoring accounts or actively reducing the reach of pro-Palestine content, a practice known as shadow banning.
Meta spokesperson blamed the reduced reach of posts on a bug and said it’s fixed.
WHAT ABOUT IN CHINA?
China has yet to condemn the Hamas attack, and benefits from the chaos in the Middle East against the US and its allies. A wave of antisemitic comments is sweeping through China’s social media.
Searches and mentions of the phrase “anti-Jew” skyrocketed on the Chinese WeChat app.
There have been a flood of hateful “Schindler’s List” reviews — a movie about saving Jews during the Holocaust.
The signs of a shift in Chinese sentiment coincide with rising nationalism and anger at the West, especially the U.S.
OVER TO RUSSIA: TELEGRAM IN DAGESTAN
Telegram blocked the channel, Morning of Dagestan, after government officials blamed it for inspiring a violent mob looking for Jewish passengers on a flight from Israel to Russia’s Muslim-majority Dagestan. The account published the flight’s details and encouraged Muslims in the area to question if passengers condemned Israel.
⏰ Hamas and the Islamic State have used Telegram accounts as its primary social media presence for years.
Telegram, a messaging app that is particularly popular in eastern Europe and the Middle East, is a largely unmoderated platform. The company forbids calls to violence on its platform, but only sporadically removes posts.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 Cornell student accused of threatening to kill Jewish students is expected in court today (CNN)
📌 9 Lives: George Santos survives latest attempt to expel him from Congress (MO NEWS)
📌 Supreme Court appears inclined to refuse ‘Trump too small’ trademark (THE HILL)
📌 Second person to receive experimental pig heart transplant dies nearly six weeks after procedure (CNN)
📌 Trump sues to ensure he is on the ballot in Michigan (NY TIMES)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Foreign passport holders, and injured Palestinians leave Gaza for first time during Israel-Hamas war through Rafah border crossing (CBS NEWS)
📌 Boris Johnson suggested that COVID was ‘nature’s way of dealing with old people’ (NEW YORK POST)
📌 Yemen’s Houthi militia claims to have launched an attack on Israel (NY TIMES)
📌 Major drought cutting Panama Canal traffic with global economic impact (BBC)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Fed keeps rates unchanged, acknowledges economy is 'strong' (REUTERS)
📌 WeWork plans to file for bankruptcy as early as next week (CNN)
📌 U.S. jury finds realtors liable for inflating commissions, awards $1.78B in damages (NBC)
📌 NASA mission is about to fly by the first of 10 asteroids (CNN)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Texas Rangers win first ever World Series (USA TODAY)
📌 'General Hospital' alum Tyler Christopher dead at 50 (ABC)
📌 Ex-'GMA3' anchors Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes announce podcast together after affair scandal (NBC)
📌 ‘Mean Girls’ trio reunite for Walmart’s “fetch” Black Friday ad (DEADLINE)
📌 Marvel could bring back the original Avengers (GIZMODO)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: NOVEMBER 2
1936: The British Broadcasting Corporation officially launched its first television channel, which was also the world's first regular TV service.
1973: A 24 year-old Billy Joel releases his song “Piano Man,” followed by the “Piano Man” album Nov. 9.
While the two have borne the test of time, neither were massive hits in their time — single only reached #25 on the “Billboard” pop single chart and album topped out at #27.
1988: A computer science student at Cornell University named Robert Morris released the first computer worm — computer program designed to secretly copy itself into other computers — onto the internet. Meant as an experiment, it brought some 6,000 computers (one-tenth of the Internet) to a halt.
2000: The first resident crew—including one American and two Russians—arrived at the International Space Station.
The arrival of Expedition 1 marked the beginning of a new era of international cooperation in space and of the longest continuous human habitation in low Earth orbit, which continues to this day.