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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
As Israel Strikes Back, Fake Gaza Images Dominate Social Media
2014-07-09
[Ynet] A BBC report has found that many of the photographs used to illustrate the situation in Gazoo are from years ago, and even from the conflicts in Iraq and Syria.
I am truly gobsmacked. Well done, BBC! is not something I ever thought to write, but there it is. Well done, indeed!
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 Paleostinian supporters are using fake images to illustrate the suffering in Gazoo.

"Graphic images are being shared on social media to show how people have been affected by the renewed tensions between Israel and the Paleostinians," the BBC reported.

"Over the past week the hashtag #GazooUnderAttack has been used hundreds of thousands of times, often to distribute pictures claiming to show the effects of Israeli Arclight airstrikes on Gazoo."

The hashtag has received 375,000 retweets in eight days.

The network found that several graphic photos, that spread through social media proporting to show killed Gazooks and destruction caused by IAF strikes in recent days, were actually photos taken several years ago, some of which 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 #GazooUnderAttack.

Over 300,000 posts were made under that hashtag. In one case, a picture of a neighborhood being bombarded was posted with the caption "This happened today in gaza while ramadhan.Our prayers always be w you. Israel is the real terrorist! (sic)"

But a BBC investigation found that the photo was taken during an IAF strike in 2009 in Beit Lahia during Operation Cast Lead.

In another instance, a photo of blooding children was posted with the caption "This is not a matter of religion. This is a matter of humanity."

According to the BBC, the photo was taken in Aleppo in Syria and not in Gazoo. Another photo in the same post was taken in Iraq in 2007.

The British broadcaster also spoke to one of the posters who shared a photo under the #GazooUnderAttack, 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 Gazoo operation are still being shared on Twitter.

A search of the hashtag found a photo of two men rescuring a boy severely maimed in IAF bombings with the caption "The world is silent as Israel wipes out Gazoo with Arclight airstrikes. Another kid, one of many, says goodbye." with the #GazooUnderAttack hashtag.

But a search of Google Images found the photo was taken in 2012 during Operation Pillar of Defense. The boy in the photo was killed along with his family in an Air Force attack.

Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, has used this tactic in the past too. Tazpit's Anav Silverman reported in 2012 that during Operation Pillar of Defense, the turban organization used fake images of Gazoo with false headlines, inciting a flurry of comments on Facebook against Israel.

The photos were of massacres that occurred in Syria the previous month, but were depicted as massacres of Gazook families by the IDF. Other such incidents reoccur persistently.
Posted by:trailing wife

#4  "I guess that's the different between the internet and credible newspaper publisher where pictures are from a source."

The other difference is that the narrative on the internet is set by amateurs, while the media uses professional editors to spin the story.
Posted by: Pappy   2014-07-09 10:16  

#3  A BBC report

BBC?!?!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2014-07-09 09:16  

#2  So?
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2014-07-09 09:12  

#1  Did Green Helmet Guy make his reappearance?
Posted by: Raj   2014-07-09 00:30  

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