by Edan Ring, Director of Community and Social Affairs at The Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL) On X/Twitter: @EdanRing Originally published in Haaretz December 26, 2023
It started with live-streamed massacres, and continued with a deluge of disinformation, aided by hackers and bots, spreading on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and Twitter/X. Hamas’ digital warfare is a case-study in how terrorists can overwhelm inadequately defended social media platforms.
The deadly attacks by Hamas on Israeli towns and civilians bordering the Gaza Strip on October 7 sparking a war in Gaza, have highlighted in the most devastating of ways the extent to which terrorist organizations and some states exploit commercial social media platforms and turn them into weapons of mass manipulation and harm.
The atrocities Hamas carried out that deadly day and in its aftermath involved not only terrorism and warfare on the ground, but an unparalleled digital attack of disinformation, manipulation and malicious content through social media platforms including Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, X, formerly Twitter, and Tiktok.
In some cases Hamas used the cellphones of their victims to post images on their social media profiles in order to reach their relatives and friends of those victims. Other examples of disinformation by Hamas and in some cases their supporters, includes fake news that the army was responsible for most of the killings of Israeli civilians.
This media-centric terror of information and psychological manipulation has underscored the significant role and capacity (or incapacity) of platforms, institutions and civilians to effectively resist these attacks.
Proactive moderation by platforms, prompt responses to reports of fake or harmful content, users’ skills in identifying and stopping the spread of false or manipulative information, and the intervention of authorities concerning content that supports terrorism, have become important resources and tools for defending civilians in this digital war.
Google, Tiktok and Meta reported about special operations and initiatives to remove Hamas content and supporters. X has also published a statement. But they need to do far more and quickly – or risk their platforms being further exploited.
Companies like these are the last guard against the cynical and egregious exploitation of social media platforms by terrorist organizations and their supporting states. It’s critical the lessons of the October 7 massacre change the way these platforms prepare for and respond to such events.
Psychological warfare and terror are not new phenomena. They were basic elements of conflicts and wars well before the era of digital communication. However, the advent of the internet and the emergence of commercial social networks have armed terrorist organizations with highly effective and convenient tools of destruction and manipulation, making it easier to terrorize those beyond the victims they have harmed physically by instilling fear and anxiety through posting videos, for example of their violence.
Media and communication technologies have been transformed into weapons capable of instigating terror and fear on a massive scale, pushing boundaries of space and time. The appalling attack on civilian homes and military bases near the Gaza Strip on October 7, and its subsequent reverberations across social media, serve as a stark illustration of this terrifying reality lurking in our mobile phones.
Hamas deliberately orchestrated their assault to be broadcasted online. Wielding Go-Pro cameras and mobile phones, they live-streamed, recorded and published their atrocities on social media pages and profiles in real-time.
They came up with new, unimagined and diabolic ways to weaponize social media and expand the circle of victims and witnesses to their murders and crimes, causing secondary trauma and anxiety to publics beyond their physical reach.
In some cases, they used their victims’ social media profiles to share images of their murder and kidnapping and expose it to their family in real-time. After the terror attacks came a new wave of disinformation, manipulation and fear-mongering through deliberate rumor spreading and false messages concerning the fate of hostages and further assaults. All these abuses were performed through private social media accounts challenging online moderation and regulation mechanisms amid ongoing conflict and highlighting their importance.
Israeli woman recounts how Hamas terrorists uploaded a photo of her grandmother on Facebook after they murdered her. CBS News/Youtube
While the lethal assault on the Israeli towns surrounding the Gaza Strip effectively lasted more than 24 hours, the aftermath of Hamas’ offensive on Israel’s civilians has echoed across social media ever since, employing various destructive tools and distribution methods and channels – both overt like broadcasting statements by hostages and covert, like using hackers and online bots or the networks of supporters to spread false claims or rumors aimed at destabilizing Israeli public opinion and challenging civic resilience.
The viral spread of such narratives and videos manipulated and abused social network users as propagators and accomplices both globally and locally, including some opportunists exploiting the global interest in the Israel-Hamas war to increase their followers and revenue, all of whom effectively aided this psychological terror.
The inherent ability of every media platform user to both consume and produce news and information, makes social media an especially lethal tool at wartime.
Unlike traditional media, where the broadcast and coverage of war zone images or hostage videos are typically framed by journalistic context and commentary, on social media, such content spreads far more dangerously and effectively without any explanatory background or warning, sowing confusion, fear, and polarization.
The indiscriminate viral distribution of such content amplifies its effect, adding to the urgency of a proper response by platforms and users to respond and combat this phenomenon.
The first few weeks of this war also shed light on the crucial role social media users play in self-defense and combat against this phenomenon that can be applied to other conflicts in the world.
In an era where a viral video, graphic image, or piece of false information is the equivalent of a ticking bomb meant to breach the hearts and minds of civilians, the ability to recognize the threat, discern the motives of the distributor and stop it from spreading, is akin to a collective mental or digital “Iron Dome”.
This pertains not only to videos like the ones broadcasting false messages like the one Islamic Jihad published, falsely claiming that the hostage Hannah Katzir, who was released a few days later, died in captivity, but to a broad spectrum of content, images and information disseminated by terrorist organizations and their supporters with the goal of sowing mayhem and anxiety.
However, citizens alone cannot fully combat the deluge of this kind of content. During the Israel-Hamas War, and indeed in many recent global conflicts, media and communication platforms must work even harder to prevent abuse of their platforms. Their work so far constitutes first steps, but much more can be done and governments and the public should demand that they do so.
Just as they are duty-bound to do their best to shield society from pedophiles and other sexual predators, or fraudsters in peacetime, these platforms must also rise to the unique challenge during emergencies and armed conflicts.
It is not an easy task, but a focus must be made especially on prevention, as once the dangerous material is posted it is hard to rein in.
This responsibility holds true not only in Europe, North America and other large markets in the western hemisphere, but is particularly critical in smaller or more isolated regions like the Middle East and Israel and the Global South in general. Here, civilians are more susceptible to the novel threats posed by psychological warfare and online disinformation while global platforms’ policy and content moderation largely overlooks them and their languages.
October 7 underscored a transformative era when social media platforms are weaponized and thrust into the frontlines. They must show greater responsibility in safeguarding users from psychological terror and disinformation than they have shown to date. This involves not just reactive measures like content moderation and abuse prevention, but also proactive strategies in educating and empowering users to discern and resist harmful and manipulative content.
It is equally important that global and local communities work together to combat this digital warfare by commercial means and algorithm but no less importantly – by fostering digital literacy and critical thinking.
The case of Hamas in the Gaza-Israel conflict serves as a startling reminder of the evolving nature of conflict in the digital age, where the lines between civilian, combatant and country blur, and the impact of a single post can reverberate with unprecedented force and impact.
As we navigate this complex landscape, the collaboration between citizens, societies, and platforms will be paramount in protecting the integrity and well-being of societies worldwide.
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For more information about ISOC-IL activities promoting online safety and platform accountability for harmful content and disinformation – explore here.
The post Op-Ed for Haaretz | How Telegram, Twitter and TikTok Have Become Lethal Tools of Hamas Psychological Warfare appeared first on Israel Internet Association – (ISOC-IL).