Israel needs better tactics to counter misinformation minefield

Fake news costs Israel in blood, money, and allies. With between 20% to 30% of shared content about the current Gaza war estimated to be fake, it’s no surprise that the 2024 World Economic Forum’s risk report says misinformation and disinformation are the number one threat facing the world, ahead of extreme weather and conflicts.

As much as a quarter of news from Gaza is said to be distorted. “Pallywood” – a term blending “Palestine” and “Hollywood” – has become a playbook. Scenes are staged to look like Israeli atrocities – crying children, bloodied streets – and then flooded onto social media to tug at emotions. Old footage is also repurposed from unrelated events to fit the current narrative about Gaza. Because there’s no institutionalised media in Gaza, the coverage is chaotic and often crowd-sourced from activists. The game is dirty, and the goal is sympathy.

The situation is compounded by the fact that there is no foreign or independent media in Gaza and local journalists all work for Hamas-owned outlets. Israel is partly to blame in this double-edged sword as it doesn’t allow foreign media into the Gaza Strip from Israel, arguing it’s an active combat zone, with airstrikes, Hamas rocket fire, and ground invasions. The Supreme Court upheld the ban in January 2025, agreeing that if foreign journalists were left to roam around independently inside Gaza, they could compromise Israeli troop movements and/or intelligence. There is also the fear that media crews could inadvertently film sensitive positions or be taken hostage by Hamas. But critics argue that this is a way for Israel to control the narrative. It’s easier to counter or influence Hamas-sourced material as “it’s all biased anyway” than if the material originated from a reputable foreign network. The bottom line is that Israel doesn’t trust foreign media and believes it to be pro-Palestinian with the goal of amplifying civilian suffering over military context.

As a result, most of the world’s media is left to rely on unverified stories by Hamas journalists and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Healthy Ministry known to inflate figures and not differentiate between fighters and civilians.

By comparison, the Israeli government isn’t guilt-free. It has been accused of under-reporting civilian Gaza deaths, employing state-funded bots, and focusing on “Pallywood” so that it can sidestep scrutiny. But Jerusalem has more money and well-tuned government ministries than Gaza to do its “hasbara” (explaining). So why then is Israel’s public relations so bad? A 2024 Pew Research Center Survey found that 58% of Americans view Israel unfavourably compared to 43% pre-2023. A 2023 YouGov poll found that 60% of British and German people side more with the Palestinians.

Israel’s foreign affairs and diaspora affairs departments and the prime minister’s office don’t have a unified message or command. More often than not, they are reactive, assuming that if Israel clarifies its position, audiences will get it. Resources are also thin. Israel increased its hasbara budget from $8.6 million to $130 million only in 2024. Contrast this with Al Jazeera’s $500 million budget and the United States’ $2 billion budget for its digital arm.

Another reason for the country’s bad PR is that “bad policies” – despite the spin – cannot be presented as “good” in the media. The “we are the victim” script that Israeli representatives still push no longer holds water for most people.

Now add Artificial intelligence (AI) to the mix, and the game changes dramatically when it comes to fake news. AI is able to pump out thousands of posts, articles, and videos daily. An AI misinformation campaign last year reached 10 million users on X in less than 48 hours before being detected. Social media platforms thrive on speed, scale, and engagement so they are the perfect breeding ground for AI-powered fakes.

AI also micro-targets, generating fake news in local languages to niche communities with tailored lies. People are more likely to believe news that concurs with their “echo chamber”, which is part of the reason audiences must challenge themselves and not only access news they agree with. AI-generated misinformation can deceive 90% of an audience if it matches their biases.

So what can one do? Check the source of the content. Try to access raw material, and as far as possible, sources one trusts like the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli officials, and Western outlets. Look for facts, not feelings. Check other media – if a story is only on one side, it’s suspect. Check the timing – the first reports in war are often wrong. Use tools like “reverse image search” to spot recycled pictures. Lastly, ask yourself who gains from this piece of news. The Palestinians want sympathy. Israel wants justification for its strikes.

Fake news counts on people hitting “share” without thinking twice. This happens when we are emotionally charged. Outrage, fear, anger, scepticism, and novelty thrive on social platforms. Be careful. Be armed. Fake news travels 70% faster than truth, and when retractions are made, they reach 10 times fewer people than the original fake post. At the end of the day, it’s increasingly going to be up to us to navigate our way through this minefield of what’s true and what’s fake.

• Paula Slier is the founder and chief executive of Newshound Media International and former Middle East and Africa bureau chief for RT.