Wednesday night the IDF (Israel defense
force) announced on their Anglophone, Francophone
and Hispanic twitter accounts that they were ready to "initiate a ground operation in Gaza" if necessary.
The Israeli army also released a video showing the raid against Ahmad Jaabari and the Hamas answered the same day on their twitter account that
they opened “The gates of hell ” by
killing their leaders.
The IDF also released a picture of the Hamas leader
with the mention “ILIMINATED"
Within 4 days 40 Palestinians and 3 Israeli died,
more than 385 Palestinians and 25 Israelis were injured.
With both the IDFand the
Alqassam Brigade(armed branch of The Hamas) tweeting about their attacks and
strikes it is now an online psychological war based on influencing public
opinion.
Supporters of both sides also tweet to support
the hamas or the tsahal with keyword such as "#IsraelUnderFire for Israelis and "#GazaUnderAttack
for Palestian‘s supporters.
Internet and
social media became a new battle field, the battle field of opinions, with YouTube
Facebook and Twitter on the front line.
Israel Defense Forces colonel and spokesperson Avital
Leibovich said twitter is an amazing tool that allows sharing information
directly and quickly. She became the director of the “Interactive Media “
department that was created only two months ago and which employs 30 members of the military specialized
in writing on the web and on social media. Avital Leibovich declared she will
quit her military position to entirely commit herself to this department. Her decision
shows the importance of social media and Public Relations in political affairs
and how governments can use them to persuade and gather people around their
cause.
“We don’t
win this type of war only on the field but also by the intermediary of public
opinion “says Tamir Sheafer, director of political communication at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem.
Both parties
want to increase support and show their side of the story. What was before a
complex war explained by political leaders and Presidents in confusing speeches
becomes now accessible and easy to understand. Everyone can inform themselves directly
from the source and have their own opinion and judgment of the situation. There
is no media to interfere or frame the message.
But what
is the risk of this kind of closeness between the populations and military
group like the IDF and the Alqassam Brigade?
Access to
information and freedom of speech are fundamental rights but the risk of
falling into propaganda is huge and people are easy to influence when emotional
appeal is used: pictures of injured and crying men, women and children are released
every minute on the net and it can lead to the rise of extremist views and the
hatred between partisans of the two populations can grow even bigger.
To make war
so accessible and to let people interact, argue and fight about it online creates
a risk to make it a social war in which people who don’t really understand the issues
and what is really at stake will just use the social platforms to exchange
insults and let their animosity take over on what is really important: the end
of hostilities and a peace agreement to stop the death of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians.
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