The White House has had to deny in record time the statements by US President Joe Biden in which he claimed to have seen images of children beheaded by Hamas. Singer Justin Bieber has posted a photograph of the destruction of Gaza to show his support for Israel. Images of the extreme violence perpetrated by Hamas have spread wildly across social networks, especially on X, the former Twitter. Brussels has raised alarm bells at the brutal magnitude of hoaxes, disinformation and illegal content circulating through digital platforms in the powder keg of the Middle East. You have already given X and Meta the first warning.
“Although the grass is not (always) greener on the other side, sometimes the sky is bluer.” With this ironic message, but direct to the jugular, the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, has announced his jump to the BlueSky social network, after direct clashes with the owner of X. A confrontation, which comes from afar, but which has intensified in the context of the bitter war between Israel and Palestine.
The exchange of reproaches has taken place publicly. And paradoxically through the social network owned by tycoon Elon Musk. Late on Tuesday, the French commissioner sent an urgent statement to the American reminding him of his obligations under the European Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into force at the end of August: “Following the terrorist attacks committed by Hamas against Israel, we have indications that X is being used to spread illegal content and propaganda within the EU.”
Under ambitious EU legislation, technology giants are obliged to ensure maximum transparency for users, remove illegal and reported content and put in place all preventive measures to prevent the spread of false or manipulated images or information. Breton gave Musk a maximum of 24 hours to respond. The reply came less than two hours later through the same channel. And on Wednesday the official one arrived, which the European Commission is currently analyzing.
“Our policy is based on everything being open source and transparent, an approach that the EU supports. Please list the violations of tone assuring that, if “the current trend continues, civil war in Europe will be inevitable.” “You are aware of reports from users and authorities about false content and glorification of violence. It is up to you to demonstrate that you lead by example,” concluded the French commissioner, who has not given more details about specific examples.
The DSA is in its first phase of implementation, but non-compliance carries million-dollar fines of up to 6% of the company’s total turnover. After the first notice to More slaps on the wrist to others like TikTok, very popular among young audiences, cannot be ruled out.
These movements and concerns have had an instant response on the other side of the English Channel. British Innovation Minister Michelle Donelan called an emergency meeting with the tech giants to ensure they “quickly remove all content fueling Hamas’ terrorist acts in Israel.” And within European confines itself, the German Agency against Disinformation has abandoned X due to “the large increase in hate content.”
Propaganda and fake news are a common component and nothing new in the fight to win the battle of the story in any war. With the emergence of a great conflict, the mantra that the first victim is the truth resurfaces. The one being fought now in the Holy Land is no exception. However, the boom and influence of social networks lays the foundation for misinformation to spread unstoppably and at the speed of light. The wars of the 21st century are broadcast live. And in the midst of a brutal maelstrom of content that makes it more difficult to decide what is true or not. Which in turn usually results in greater social polarization.
The European authorities have not spoken of specific examples. But the number of viral hoaxes spread on the networks, especially through X in these six days of war, has been a constant. This is not a new phenomenon of the 1920s. Already in the Arab springs, which began in 2011, social networks played a crucial role. But what worries Brussels at the moment is that the new model of the
Videos from the war in Syria or Azerbaijan have been attributed to attacks in Israel and Gaza. A clip that has accumulated more than 300,000 views shows the Israeli army launching white phosphorus bombs on Gaza, but the images date back to March and are the work of Russia in a bombing of the Ukrainian town of Vuhledar. Another that has almost 800,000 visits wrongly reveals the kidnapping of a child by a Hamas militiaman, but it had nothing to do with it, according to a Fact Check by the Reuters Agency. Even the beheading of dozens of babies in a kibbutz is one of the most viral news on social networks. But it emanates from a single source and has not yet been proven. Kidnappings, hospital admission of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or a plot through which Hamas would be receiving weapons from Ukraine are some of the hoaxes that are circulating with impunity on the platforms.
After the first hours since the unprecedented and surprising assault by the Hamas terrorist group against Israel, it was Elon Musk himself who recommended following the events coming from the Holy Land through accounts and profiles characterized by publishing false information. One of them had gone viral months ago for spreading an explosion – which never existed – in the Pentagon. He deleted the tweet. But the example demonstrates to a large extent the perverse art of the current functioning of networks: the impact of misinformation is much greater than the subsequent denial. The NGO Media Matters affirms that the current dispute between Israel and Palestine represents “the first test for X in the midst of a global crisis.” “The platform has failed miserably. Disinformation proliferated as paid verified accounts spread misleading videos, manipulated photos and misinformation,” he concludes.
