Spread of Misinformation Online and Hatred in Israel-Gaza War

What's the story? 

• Social media platforms, most notably X, formerly known as Twitter, have been at the center of online misinformation about the Israel-Gaza war, with some observers calling X a breeding ground for extremists.

Misinformation and horrors spread online

• An Israeli grandmother's execution was photographed and posted to her Facebook profile by Hamas, where it was seen on her friend's news feeds. Experts have pointed out that gruesome content can work as a recruiting tool for would-be extremists.
• Video game footage was passed off as footage from the conflict, and images of firework celebrations in Algeria were characterized as Israeli strikes on Hamas.
• A video of Putin speaking about an unrelated topic featured captions that made it appear as though he was threatening the U.S. and promising to offer military support to Palestine.
• Fake images of soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo holding the Palestinian flag were also circulated.

The role of X

• Shayan Sardarizadeh from BBC Verify said: 

"In the first couple of days of the conflict, the volume of misinformation on X was beyond anything I've ever seen."

• Sardarizadeh pointed out how hard it is to distinguish between real visual footage, unrelated footage from prior conflicts, out-of-context clickbait, or even AI-generated images. He pointed out that creators will place logos from established, trusted news organizations onto their content to increase legitimacy.
• X's new policy of offering blue verified check marks to users who pay $8 per month for a premium plan, rather than offering them to users whose identity has been verified, has been problematic. The algorithm that favors verified accounts emphasizes viral content, which leads to clickbait and posts designed to outrage audiences and solicit strong reactions. Critics have also pointed to Elon Musk's recent firing of many of the people responsible for countering misinformation on the platform.
• Emerson Brooking from the Atlantic Council Digital Forensics Research Lab said:

"Elon Musk's changes to the platform work entirely to the benefit of terrorists and war propagandists. Changes in profit and incentive structure mean that there's a lot more tendency for people to share at high volume information which may not be true because they are trying to maximize view counts."

• The European Union has sent warnings to TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram-parent Meta, YouTube, and X, warning them that they could face billions of dollars in fines if an investigation determines that they violated EU content moderation laws.

Tiktok takes action

• Following the EU warning, TikTok has announced new actions against misinformation, violence incitement, and hate content relating to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
• The platform has already removed 500,000+ videos and closed 8,000 livestreams in the affected area after the Hamas attack.
• TikTok's crisis management updates include launching a command center, hiring more Arabic and Hebrew moderators, and enhancing support for frontline moderators. It will also introduce opt-in screens for graphic content while maintaining public interest exceptions for certain educational and documentary content.
• They have temporarily modified their policies to prevent hateful or violent content during the current hostage situation, including stricter LIVE eligibility rules, and are engaging with industry and civil society experts, such as Tech Against Terrorism and our Advisory Councils.

Are you worried about online hate speech?

-Emma Kansiz & Laura Woods