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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Israel's Disinformation Apparatus: A Key Weapon in its Arsenal</h1>
</div><div class="gmail-content"><div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div><div><p>by <a href="https://al-shabaka.org/en/author/tariq-kenney-shawa/">Tariq Kenney-Shawa</a> on March 12, 2024</p>
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<img width="395" height="296" src="https://al-shabaka.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/kenny-shawa-policy-brief-march2024-final-photo-1.jpeg" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;">
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<h2><span id="gmail-Introduction"></span><b>Introduction</b><span></span></h2>
<p><span>During campaigns of genocide and ethnic cleansing,
disinformation is a potent weapon—a tool to dehumanize victims, justify
mass violence, and most importantly, sow seeds of doubt designed to
muzzle calls for intervention. When information is weaponized, confusion
and doubt no longer emerge from the “fog of war” as a symptom, but are
purposefully cultivated with the explicit intention of creating it. </span></p>
<p><span>At the time of writing, Israeli forces have killed over 30,000
Palestinians across Gaza and the West Bank since October 2023. They have
targeted hospitals, schools, and civilians fleeing their homes.
Israel’s assault is marked not only by the historic scale of violence
being inflicted upon Palestinians, but by the unprecedented flood of
disinformation being deployed to justify it. </span></p>
<p><span>Propaganda and disinformation produced at industrial scale by
official Israeli government and military sources are being legitimized
and boosted by a wide network of journalists and open-source
intelligence (OSINT) analysts, who have discarded all vestiges of
objectivity and analytical rigor in their coverage. Instead of bearing
witness to Israeli war crimes and questioning the narratives put forth
by a regime engaging in genocide, they have become complicit in them. As
a result, Israeli information operations are benefiting from a media
network acting not as unbiased reporters, but as enablers of Israeli
mass atrocities. </span></p>
<p><span>This policy brief explores the information warfare tactics
Israel has used to influence public perception of its ongoing genocide
in Gaza, how these efforts have contributed to the decay of truth, and
how they hamper efforts to organize a global response. It also explains
how journalists and open-source intelligence analysts have become active
enablers of Israeli war crimes by acting as uncritical conduits of
Israeli propaganda. Finally, it offers recommendations for reporters,
analysts, and the wider public to leverage open-source tools to refute
dominant Israeli propaganda and disinformation. </span></p>
<h2><span id="gmail-Hasbara_A_Long-Running_Strategy"></span><b>Hasbara: A Long-Running Strategy </b><span></span></h2>
<p><span>Israel has long recognized the information environment as a
critical battle front to justify the perpetual oppressive structures of
occupation and apartheid. “Hasbara,” which translates to “explaining” in
Hebrew, has long embodied this recognition. </span><a href="https://mepc.org/speeches/hasbara-and-control-narrative-element-strategy"><span>Rooted in pre-existing concepts</span></a><span>
of state-sponsored propaganda, agitprop, and information warfare,
hasbara aims to shape the very parameters of acceptable discourse. This
involves a coordinated effort by both state institutions and NGOs to
bolster Israeli domestic unity, secure support of allies, and influence
how media, intellectuals, and influencers discuss Israel. </span></p>
<p><span><span><span><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fow.ly%2FKXfO50QQ6gG&text=Israel%20has%20long%20recognized%20the%20information%20environment%20as%20a%20critical%20battle%20front%20to%20justify%20the%20perpetual%20oppressive%20structures%20of%20occupation%20and%20apartheid&via=AlShabaka&related=AlShabaka" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Israel
has long recognized the information environment as a critical battle
front to justify the perpetual oppressive structures of occupation and
apartheid </a></span><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fow.ly%2FKXfO50QQ6gG&text=Israel%20has%20long%20recognized%20the%20information%20environment%20as%20a%20critical%20battle%20front%20to%20justify%20the%20perpetual%20oppressive%20structures%20of%20occupation%20and%20apartheid&via=AlShabaka&related=AlShabaka" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click To Tweet</a></span></span></p>
<p><span>For years, Israel’s hasbara efforts were coordinated by
government bodies, such as the Ministry of Strategic Affairs. After the
ministry’s closure in 2021, the Israeli cabinet </span><a href="https://www.972mag.com/hasbara-funding-foreign-agents/"><span>approved a NIS 100 million</span></a><span>
($30 million) project aimed at adapting Israeli hasbara for an evolving
global audience. The initiative, led by then-Foreign Minister Yair
Lapid, funneled funds indirectly to foreign entities, ranging from
social media influencers to media-watch organizations, that would
disseminate pro-Israel propaganda while concealing direct ties to the
Israeli government. These concerted efforts seek to establish cognitive
filters that validate Israeli interests while discrediting opposing
narratives on Israeli settler colonialism and its systemic violence. </span></p>
<p><span>In adapting to an information-rich environment, hasbarists do
not solely seek to block access to information but rather guide
audiences towards selective interpretation. </span><a href="https://www.newarab.com/news/understanding-hasbara-israels-propaganda-machine"><span>For over 75 years</span></a><span>,
they have cast Israel as the perpetual victim, despite its military
dominance and role as occupier, and are now deploying the same tactics
to justify genocide in Gaza. By accusing Hamas of using Palestinians in
Gaza as "human shields,” painting Palestinian resistance groups as
existential threats akin to the Nazis and ISIS, or smearing victims of
Israeli air strikes as “crisis actors,” hasbara aims to justify the
unjustifiable. </span></p>
<h2><span id="gmail-Sowing_Seeds_of_Doubt"></span><b>Sowing Seeds of Doubt</b><span></span></h2>
<p><span>Before the digital age, it was easier for Israel to discredit
Palestinian claims by denying them outright. But the advent of the 24/7
news cycle and social media allowed images of Israeli atrocities to
traverse the world at the speed of information, forcing Israeli
hasbarists to change tactics. </span></p>
<p><span>On September 30, 2000, 12-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah was </span><a href="https://www.972mag.com/pallywood-trope-second-intifada/"><span>shot and killed</span></a><span>
by Israeli forces during a gun battle between Israeli soldiers and
Palestinian security forces. The moment of Muhammad’s death, which was
caught on camera, marked the birth of the hasbara term “Pallywood,” a
racist smear that accuses Palestinians of acting out fake atrocities to
blame on Israelis.</span></p>
<p><span>Unable to deny Muhammed’s killing outright, Israeli
propagandists resorted to delegitimizing the source altogether. After
footage of Muhammad’s death went viral, Israelis insisted that he was a </span><a href="https://theaugeanstables.com/al-durah-affair-the-dossier/guide-to-al-durah-recent-posts-till-september-21-2006/"><span>crisis actor</span></a><span> and that his death </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02x_4If0gmw"><span>was a hoax</span></a><span>.
It did not matter that Muhammad’s father buried his son with his own
hands, nor did it matter that the murder was caught on video and
confirmed by eyewitnesses. What mattered was that all Palestinian claims
henceforth would be tainted by doubt, subjected to heightened scrutiny,
or written off outright.</span></p>
<p><span><span><span><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fow.ly%2FKXfO50QQ6gG&text=The%20primary%20targets%20of%20Israeli%20disinformation%20are%20the%20two%20constituencies%20that%20matter%20most%20to%20Israel%E2%80%99s%20leaders%3A%20the%20Israeli%20public%20and%20Western%20audiences&via=AlShabaka&related=AlShabaka" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The
primary targets of Israeli disinformation are the two constituencies
that matter most to Israel’s leaders: the Israeli public and Western
audiences </a></span><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fow.ly%2FKXfO50QQ6gG&text=The%20primary%20targets%20of%20Israeli%20disinformation%20are%20the%20two%20constituencies%20that%20matter%20most%20to%20Israel%E2%80%99s%20leaders%3A%20the%20Israeli%20public%20and%20Western%20audiences&via=AlShabaka&related=AlShabaka" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click To Tweet</a></span></span></p>
<p><span>During the years that followed, the practice of portraying
Palestinian victims of Israeli war crimes as crisis actors evolved from a
conspiratorial fringe tactic to an official Israeli government
strategy. On October 13, 2023, the official X account of the State of
Israel </span><a href="https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/israel-falsely-claimed-footage-showed-214343449.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAK1E74lXhjQP-xzfIQObTE1DTq0UmmODZRg11xRsOtkL8kMgkCD22Y9-vT8puOYcxobWuKd8kVheJmL29RhB5Zt1hWkMw4RFcuNt50jwybmlxd8-Wj2LUI53h0chhY1haqnc4BXA7ZpIz3-DT36a1ZjB0dZ-m0fXYTBwW-cyonb"><span>posted a video</span></a><span>
of a dead Palestinian child, wrapped in a white burial shroud, claiming
it was a doll planted by Hamas. Only after the original uploader of the
video was tracked down, the child identified, and additional evidence
shared, was the libelous post deleted without official explanation or
retraction. By then, the fake news had already garnered millions of
views and the damage was done. Henceforth, all images of dead
Palestinian children would be written off by an audience primed to doubt
their authenticity. </span></p>
<p><span>The next month, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was called out for attempting to </span><a href="https://www.newarab.com/news/israeli-official-exposed-spreading-disinfo-gaza-suffering"><span>pass off footage</span></a><span>
from a Lebanese film as evidence that Palestinians were faking injuries
from Israeli attacks. The post remained up for days, despite an X
community note and a </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67760523"><span>BBC debunk</span></a><span>. “Pallywood” smears have also been leveled at popular influencers in an attempt to discredit them. For example, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/MattBinder/status/1717648864251957365"><span>viral posts</span></a><span>
from official Israeli social media accounts claimed that Saleh
Aljafarawi, a popular influencer who has been covering Israel’s assault
on Gaza, staged fake injuries at a hospital. This was likewise </span><a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-israel-hamas-gaza-false-crisis-actors-068772255064"><span>later debunked</span></a><span>, as the footage was proven to instead be of Mohammed Zendiq, a young man injured during an Israeli incursion in the West Bank.</span></p>
<p><span>Of course, Israeli claims of “Pallywood” propaganda were never
designed to withstand even rudimentary fact-checking and scrutiny. But
in an age in which over </span><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/social-media-and-news-fact-sheet/"><span>50% of US adults</span></a><span>
get their news from social media and an even higher number do not read
past headlines, Israeli disinformation can become engrained long before
it is debunked. </span><span>One study found that </span><a href="https://www.prweek.com/article/1431578/study-86-people-dont-fact-check-news-spotted-social-media"><span>86 percent</span></a><span> of people do not fact-check news they see on social media. </span><a href="https://www.logicallyfacts.com/en/analysis/pallywood-how-denial-of-civilian-harm-has-proliferated"><span>Another study</span></a><span>
found that the volume of social media posts citing Pallywood “increased
steadily in the days after October 7”, and that the term was mentioned
over 146,000 times between October 7th and October 27th. </span></p>
<p><span>The primary targets of Israeli disinformation are the two
constituencies that matter most to Israel’s leaders: the Israeli public
and Western audiences. In a battle for sympathy, the truth is rarely a
requisite. Sometimes all it takes is a headline that captures attention
and confirms preexisting biases. </span></p>
<h2><span id="gmail-Justifying_War_Crimes"></span><b>Justifying War Crimes </b><span></span></h2>
<p><span>With an international audience primed to treat Palestinian
claims with skepticism from the outset, Israeli state-sponsored
disinformation campaigns have become a critical tool in justifying war
crimes. This strategy is centered on convincing foreign governments and
the wider public that Palestinian resistance groups use civilians as
human shields and civilian infrastructure for military purposes,
rendering them legitimate targets. Nowhere has this been more pronounced
than in Israel’s systematic assault on Gaza’s hospitals and health
infrastructure since October 7th, 2023.</span></p>
<p><span><span><span><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fow.ly%2FKXfO50QQ6gG&text=%28Israel%E2%80%99s%29%20strategy%20is%20centered%20on%20convincing%20foreign%20governments%20and%20the%20wider%20public%20that%20Palestinian%20resistance%20groups%20use%20civilians%20as%20human%20shields%20and%20civilian%20infrastructure%20for%20military%20purposes%2C%20rendering%20them%20legitimate%20targets&via=AlShabaka&related=AlShabaka" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">(Israel’s)
strategy is centered on convincing foreign governments and the wider
public that Palestinian resistance groups use civilians as human shields
and civilian infrastructure for military purposes, rendering them
legitimate targets </a></span><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fow.ly%2FKXfO50QQ6gG&text=%28Israel%E2%80%99s%29%20strategy%20is%20centered%20on%20convincing%20foreign%20governments%20and%20the%20wider%20public%20that%20Palestinian%20resistance%20groups%20use%20civilians%20as%20human%20shields%20and%20civilian%20infrastructure%20for%20military%20purposes%2C%20rendering%20them%20legitimate%20targets&via=AlShabaka&related=AlShabaka" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click To Tweet</a></span></span></p>
<p><span>On October 27th, the Israeli military’s official X account posted a </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pTYHBZVgVQ"><span>3D rendition</span></a><span>
of an elaborate labyrinth of tunnels and bunkers underneath Al-Shifa
Hospital, alleging Hamas was using it as a command center. Their claims
were specific: Al-Shifa was the “beating heart” of Hamas’s command
infrastructure, and several hospital buildings sat directly atop tunnels
that could be accessed from hospital wards. Israel provided no evidence
to back up their claims, but that did not stop the Biden Administration
from unequivocally repeating the Israeli narrative. Speaking to
reporters a day before Israeli forces stormed the hospital, John Kirby, a
US National Security Council spokesperson, </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/14/politics/white-house-hamas-al-shifa/index.html"><span>insisted</span></a><span>
that not only did “Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
members operate a command-and-control node from Al-Shifa,” but that they
were using the hospital to “hold hostages” and were “prepared to
respond to an Israeli military operation.” Like the Israeli military,
Kirby presented no evidence to back up his statement. </span></p>
<p><span>On November 15th, Israeli forces </span><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/15/israels-raid-on-al-shifa-hospital-heres-what-you-should-know#:~:text=Israeli%20forces%20raided%20Gaza's%20al,grave%20on%20the%20hospital%20premises."><span>stormed Al-Shifa hospital</span></a><span>,
hours after the Biden Administration had effectively given them the
green light. What they found fell far short of their far-reaching
claims. While Israeli forces did uncover a tunnel that ran under a
corner of the hospital compound, none of the hospital buildings were
connected to the tunnel network—which showed no signs of military
use—and there was </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/15/israel-gaza-al-shifa-hospital-raid-case/"><span>no evidence</span></a><span>
of access from hospital wards. Hamas fighters never mobilized en masse
to defend the facility from within, as US intelligence predicted. There
were no signs of hostages and, most importantly, no command center. </span></p>
<p><span>While Al-Shifa represents the cornerstone of Israel’s
disinformation campaign against Palestinian health infrastructure, it is
far from the only target. Israeli forces have carried out </span><a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231211-unprecedented-medical-crisis-healthcare-workers-and-facilities-targeted-in-gaza/"><span>over 500 attacks</span></a><span>
on healthcare workers and infrastructure across Gaza and the West Bank
since October 7th, averaging about 7 attacks per day. These numbers
include attacks on hospitals and clinics, healthcare personnel,
ambulances, patients, and medical aid stations. By planting the idea,
regardless of its veracity, that Hamas and other resistance groups might
be using hospitals for military purposes, Israel casts a shadow of
doubt over whether Gaza’s entire health system enjoys the protections
afforded by international humanitarian law. In doing so, Israel
transforms the perception of attacks on hospitals from a brazen
violation of international law to a norm.</span></p>
<h2><span id="gmail-Journalists_and_OSINT_Analysts_as_Enablers"></span><b>Journalists and OSINT Analysts as Enablers</b><span></span></h2>
<p><span>While the last three months reveal how uniquely callous and
crude Israel’s information manipulation tactics are, they are not new.
In fact, many of the Israeli talking points we have become so familiar
with today are </span><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/world/hamas-israel-war-gaza-vietnam/"><span>eerily reminiscent</span></a><span>
of the rhetoric the US employed to justify civilian massacres in
Vietnam. But while much of the political establishment in the West has
come to widely condemn the indiscriminate bombing campaigns, the use of
internationally prohibited munitions, and the collective punishment of
civilians by US forces in Vietnam, they now justify Israel’s use of the
same tactics in Gaza. </span></p>
<p><span>When it comes to public opinion, much of the proclivity to
exceptionalize Israeli war crimes is due to the failure of journalists
to critically analyze Israeli narratives against the backdrop of
Israel’s history of disinformation, even when open-source investigative
tools readily contradict their claims. Indeed, Israel's disinformation
tactics would not be as successful as they are without the complicity of
journalists and OSINT analysts. Rather than challenging and debunking
false claims, many have abandoned objectivity and journalistic rigor and
instead act as mouthpieces for the Israeli military.</span></p>
<p><span><span><span><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fow.ly%2FKXfO50QQ6gG&text=When%20it%20comes%20to%20public%20opinion%2C%20much%20of%20the%20proclivity%20to%20exceptionalize%20Israeli%20war%20crimes%20is%20due%20to%20the%20failure%20of%20journalists%20to%20critically%20analyze%20Israeli%20narratives%20against%20the%20backdrop%20of%20Israel%E2%80%99s%20history%20of%20disinformation&via=AlShabaka&related=AlShabaka" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">When
it comes to public opinion, much of the proclivity to exceptionalize
Israeli war crimes is due to the failure of journalists to critically
analyze Israeli narratives against the backdrop of Israel’s history of
disinformation </a></span><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fow.ly%2FKXfO50QQ6gG&text=When%20it%20comes%20to%20public%20opinion%2C%20much%20of%20the%20proclivity%20to%20exceptionalize%20Israeli%20war%20crimes%20is%20due%20to%20the%20failure%20of%20journalists%20to%20critically%20analyze%20Israeli%20narratives%20against%20the%20backdrop%20of%20Israel%E2%80%99s%20history%20of%20disinformation&via=AlShabaka&related=AlShabaka" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click To Tweet</a></span></span></p>
<p><span>Journalists today enjoy two key advantages that those covering
the Vietnam war did not have: the benefits of hindsight and the
verification tools provided by OSINT analysis. Instead of treating
Israeli claims with inherent skepticism, seasoned journalists are
acquiescing to Israeli censorship and narrative control. In November,
CNN’s White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond joined a small number of
journalists, including ABC’s Ian Pannell and Fox News’s Trey Yingst, in
announcing that they would be covering the “Israel-Hamas war” from
inside Gaza—but under serious limitations: “As a condition to enter Gaza
under IDF escort, outlets have to submit all materials and footage to
the Israeli military for review prior to publication,” said Becky
Anderson, </span><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176919/cnn-abc-nbc-reporters-embedding-israeli-military-gaza"><span>who introduced</span></a><span>
Diamond’s report. While there is nothing new about journalists
embedding with armed forces, Israel’s required screening and censorship
of reporting stand out when compared to other militaries. Indeed, even
the US military did not </span><a href="https://sgp.fas.org/othergov/dod/embed.pdf"><span>explicitly mandate</span></a><span>
that journalists embedded with its forces in Iraq submit all of their
reporting for approval prior to publishing, except in select cases
involving classified information. </span></p>
<p><span>Effective journalism requires constant verification and
fact-checking, informed by an instinct for skepticism. By accepting
Israel’s uniquely onerous censorship terms in Gaza, journalists are
doing more harm than good. The information Israel allows to be published
is carefully selected to justify the targeting and killing of
Palestinian civilians, and by only reporting the approved narrative of a
military currently engaged in genocide, journalists are effectively
giving a platform to war crimes justifications. Uncritically
regurgitating unverified claims made by a military with a history of
information manipulation in the midst of a genocide is not journalism;
it is stenography.</span></p>
<h3><i><span>Unobjective OSINT Analysts </span></i></h3>
<p><span>As traditional journalism fails the tests of objectivity, OSINT
once again finds itself in the spotlight. Over recent years, OSINT has
emerged as a trusted source of news and objective analysis amid waning
confidence in state institutions and traditional media. Much of this is
due to the traceable, transparent nature of open-source investigations,
which has made OSINT analysts popular sources of news and situational
analysis for journalists, lawmakers, and the public alike. </span></p>
<p><span>Open-source investigations </span><a href="https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/harnessing-open-source-intelligence-for-palestinian-liberation/"><span>have been pivotal</span></a><span> in countering Israeli state-sponsored disinformation. In one instance, a </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/14/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-al-shifa-hospital.html"><span>New York Times investigation</span></a><span>
refuted Israeli claims that a misfired Palestinian rocket hit Al-Shifa
Hospital courtyard on November 10th, revealing that the projectile was,
in fact, an Israeli artillery shell. This exposed not only Israeli
responsibility for the strike but also their deceptive tactics, which
went as far as providing a </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Israel/status/1723073866434478114"><span>false mockup</span></a><span> of radar data to deceive the media. </span></p>
<p><span>While OSINT has </span><a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/10/03/open-source-intelligence-palestine-israel-digital-occupation-osint/"><span>once again</span></a><span>
proven to be an integral tool in war crimes investigations by
circumventing Israeli access denial and debunking disinformation, some
popular OSINT accounts have discarded their facades of objectivity.
While this is indicative of wider trends in the deteriorating
information environment on social media, a growing number of popular
OSINT accounts are using their far-reaching platforms to peddle Israeli
disinformation and even cover up Israeli war crimes. </span></p>
<p><span>Perhaps the most obvious example of this is an X account by the
name of OSINT Defender. A self-described “Open Source Intelligence
Monitor focused on Europe and Conflicts across the World,” OSINT
Defender gained prominence covering the war in Ukraine. </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/10/27/x-twitter-elite-hamas-accounts-london-georgia/"><span>Recent investigations</span></a><span>
have revealed OSINT Defender’s identity as Simon Anderson, a member of
the US military and resident of the state of Georgia. Since October 7th,
the account has developed a reputation for sharing Israeli
disinformation, dehumanizing Palestinians, and justifying Israeli war
crimes. </span></p>
<p><span>OSINT Defender has shared </span><a href="https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1717909792851677399?s=20"><span>debunked Israeli claims</span></a><span> of the alleged Hamas command center under Al-Shifa and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1734727411848151375?s=20"><span>described</span></a><span>
hundreds of Palestinian civilians rounded up and tortured by Israeli
forces as “Hamas terrorists.” The Israeli military itself later admitted
that those rounded up were indeed civilians, but OSINT Defender never
retracted the original posts. He has also fueled racist </span><a href="https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1722042585177358364?s=20"><span>“Pallywood” tropes</span></a><span> and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1714728569497080166?s=20"><span>routinely describes</span></a><span> peaceful protesters calling for a ceasefire as violent “Hamas supporters.” If that wasn’t enough, Anderson </span><a href="https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1712852720468508922?s=20"><span>also claimed</span></a><span>
that the group of journalists killed by an Israeli tank shell in
southern Lebanon were filming “current exchanges of fire,” when in
reality, no active combat was ongoing at the time they were targeted. In
none of these cases has OSINT Defender publicly retracted or corrected
the false claims, even when debunked.</span></p>
<p><span>While experienced analysts and journalists may be able to
identify the disinformation and engagement farming that accounts like
OSINT Defender are known for, the same cannot be said for the general
public. Their understanding of Israel’s assault on Gaza continues to be
shaped by analysts assumed to be objective who, in reality, act as an
extended arm of the Israeli propaganda machine. For example, accounts
such as </span><a href="https://twitter.com/no_itsmyturn"><span>Aleph א</span></a><span> and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/IsraelRadar_com"><span>Israel Radar</span></a><span>
provide more technical analysis of developments throughout the region,
but never question Israeli military narratives or correct Israeli
disinformation, even when it is publicly debunked. They routinely fact
check other accounts for sharing disinformation, but give the Israeli
military a pass from the same verification process. For example, while
pro-Israel accounts were quick to share Israel’s </span><a href="https://twitter.com/IsraelWarRoom/status/1723071518597353740"><span>fabricated radar data</span></a><span>
mockup that claimed misfired Palestinian rockets struck Al-Shifa on
November 10th, they were nowhere to be seen when subsequent
investigations debunked it. </span></p>
<h2><span id="gmail-Conclusion"></span><b>Conclusion</b><span></span></h2>
<p><span>Israel's strategy in Gaza is not limited to dehumanizing
Palestinians and justifying war crimes under the guise of self-defense.
In addition to saturating the information environment with an
unprecedented deluge of state-sponsored disinformation, Israel has
further isolated Gaza by deliberately targeting and destroying
communications infrastructure. The resulting communications blackouts
have thrust Gaza further into the dark, making it increasingly difficult
for Palestinians to share evidence of Israeli war crimes with the
outside world. As a result, efforts to push back against Israeli
disinformation are severely hindered and Israeli propaganda can run
amok. </span></p>
<p><span>Israel’s near-total control of the information environment is
further compounded by the global network of journalists and OSINT
analysts who, wittingly or unwittingly, act as uncritical conduits for
pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian narratives. This phenomenon underscores a
dangerous precedent, where the rapid dissemination of information—or
disinformation—can shape international perceptions in real time before
thorough verification or counter-narratives can take hold.</span></p>
<p><span>Moreover, Israel’s information warfare tactics, deeply
ingrained in the nation’s military and political ethos, serve as a stark
reminder of the power of narrative control in facilitating mass
atrocities. The case of Gaza presents a microcosm of a broader, global
challenge: how to navigate and counter state-sponsored disinformation in
a hyper-connected world. </span></p>
<h3><strong>Recommendations: </strong></h3>
<ul><li><span>Civil society and NGOs should collaborate to
enhance media literacy and offer training opportunities designed to
educate the general public on how to identify disinformation and
propaganda. While this applies to all forms of media, training in basic
OSINT collection methods would arm audiences with the tools they need to
verify information as it comes out in real time. This could include
training on conducting reverse image searches, geolocating footage
shared online, and cross-checking information across multiple
trustworthy sources. They should also advocate for increased funding of
independent fact-checking organizations, such as </span><a href="https://www.alhaq.org/"><span>Al-Haq</span></a><span> and </span><a href="https://forensic-architecture.org/"><span>Forensic Architecture</span></a><span>. </span></li><li><span>Media organizations and journalists should
adhere to widely recognized journalistic and editorial standards when it
comes to fact-checking and source verification, especially during
conflicts characterized by rampant human rights abuses and war crimes.
Claims made by militaries or armed groups should be treated with
heightened scrutiny. In light of access limitations imposed by Israel,
it is imperative for media organizations to prioritize sourcing news
content and situational updates from Palestinian sources and hiring
Palestinian reporters wherever feasible. </span></li><li><span>International law is woefully unprepared to
address the evolving nature of state-sponsored disinformation in the
digital age. In addition to developing wider legal frameworks to address
the issue, the UN and other international bodies should establish a
task force to monitor and document instances of Israeli state-sponsored
disinformation designed to dehumanize Palestinians and justify mass
killing. This information can be included as evidence of Israel’s
genocidal intent in ongoing and future investigations. </span></li><li><span>Social media companies must take action to
address their role in facilitating the spread of disinformation and
propaganda that dehumanize Palestinians and justify war crimes. This
includes implementing robust fact-checking mechanisms, enhancing
transparency in content moderation efforts, collaborating with
independent fact-checkers, strengthening community standards, and
amplifying Palestinian voices, rather than censoring them. </span></li></ul>
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