By our correspondent David Poort*
06-01-2009
The Israeli army includes a well-oiled propaganda apparatus. Women are the gender of choice for spokespersons because of their supposed softer image. And foreign journalists are bombarded with emails and text messages providing news coverage from an Israeli perspective.
War also rages on the internet. A tough on-line battle to influence public opinion is being fought in the shadow of the Israeli offensive. Both sides have become masters in the art of cyber warfare. Without let-up, photographs, videos and text are posted on the internet. However, it is the Arab digital world which has perfected the production of on-line propaganda to an art form.
Thousands of e-mails including the most horrific photographs of the Gaza Strip conflict are circulating in the Arab world. They also include photographs of dead Palestinian children, their small bodies completely destroyed. The captions read "Zionists are Nazis.
Facebook
Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter en YouTube are used as weapons in the propaganda war. On the Facebook site, kindred spirits can join special groups; one of them is called : "I bet I can find one million people who support Israel". So far, only 76,000 people have joined. Another group, named F**k Israel, has nearly 20,000 members.
The Israeli army recently launched its own YouTube channel featuring videos of Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip. The videos are intended to show that Israël is not simply firing into the strip at random.
One of the videos shows a group of men filmed from great altitude while loading long tubes in the boot of a car; Israel claims the tubes are Qassam rockets. A few seconds later, the car explodes and the men disappear in a cloud of smoke.
Army spokesperson Avital Leibovitch says: "The new media and the blogosphere form a whole new battlefield in the war for world opinion. It is vital Israel fights on this front as well".
Twitter
Last week, the Israeli consulate in New York for the first time used Twitter to organise a press conference on the Gaza Strip offensive. Twitter users from all around the globe fired about 400 questions at the consulate. More than 3,000 Twitters followed the discussion.
The al-Jazeera news channel has also opened a Twitter channel, where users can follow the latest development in the Gaza Strip. The Twitter channel qassamcount keeps track of the number of Qassam rockets fired by Hamas at Israel.
Hackers
But that is not the full extent of the on-line war. Hackers have attacked and taken over hundreds of web sites since the start of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. The site of Israel's main newspaper Yediot Ahronot was hacked on Friday. People who surfed to the paper's URL were redirected to a black page featuring anti-Israel propaganda and an Arab battle song. It took the newspaper at least half a day to regain control of its website.
At first glance, this sort of attack appears fairly harmless, but internet experts say they do constitute a threat. Research shows improved coordination of the attacks.
Access to Gaza
At present, al-Jazeera is the only international news channel with correspondents in the Gaza Strip. Israel has blasted al-Jazeera's coverage of the conflict as hostile and biased.
However, Israel still refuses to admit foreign journalists to the area, in spite of a Supreme Court decision ruling the blockade illegal. This means only Arab television images are broadcast from the Gaza Strip.
*RNW translation (gsh)
Tags:
Cyber war,
Gaza Strip,
Israeli propaganda,
Palestinian propaganda
Jeff,
09-01-2009
- Canada
You damn fools. If you all you know so much about whats going on why don't you solve the worlds problems yourselves? You speak in absolutes. Only a fool doesn't see the folly in this. What's happening is wrong ON BOTH SIDES. Blaming either side exclusively is only fuel for the fire, the misery, and the desolation. Any 3 year-old will tell you that.
jasmin,
08-01-2009
- India
People are being used as human shields and baits, to garner sympathy for self and hatred for the attackers....Strange are politics and religion!!!!
LEO,
07-01-2009
- argentina
"According to intelligence reports," he added, "the terrorists are stopping Gaza residents from evacuating their homes in order to flee the fighting." "Hamas is not letting them go," he said. "They want to increase the numbers of wounded and dead Palestinians for the cameras." It might be it is not interesting news to write on. That is why there is not much information and comments on.
Thomas,
07-01-2009
- USA
You state in you article: "The Israeli army includes a well-oiled propaganda apparatus." This is bull. No one can beat the BBC, Guardian and some of RNW own propagandists in smearing Israel. Who would let in the Photoshopping Reuters, or the BBC...remember the French TV faking stories about Al Dura! Just yesterday the French admitted that the picture they posted are from 2005 and not recent: by mistake! - Sure, by mistake. Keep the press out!
rumi,
06-01-2009
-
I have been watching Al-Jazeera and think they are doing a superb job. They are getting spokespersons from the Israeli side to give opinion also. Calling black - black and white - white does not make them biased. Showing pictures of dead bodies does not make them biased as this is what is happening. It is so obvious Israel is using their propaganda machinery at full speed putting a spin on everything everyone else says. It's quite embarrassing, but obviously some of it is working as it is helping pull the wool over the eyes of bloggers such as the above.
Joost ,
06-01-2009
- Holland
I don't know why the Israeli armed forces don't allow foreign journalists into the Gaza Strip. It is a proof of suppression of freedom of press. Israel only wants to show what they want to show. That is, stereotyped images featuring current affairs in Gaza. However, their attempt doesn't look very successful in this respect. More and more people all over the world have become negative and critical against Israel. Because Israel has not the slightest intention to protect Palestinian civilians within this horrific massacre. Israel will be a for ever slave of violence and terrible routine of bloodshed.
CHAN KS,
06-01-2009
- Malaysia
Yes, al-Jazeera is biased against Israel. They are good at showing the bodies of dead children to gain sympathy for the Hamas leaders who are hiding like sewer rats in mosques and civilian areas. Instead of fighting their enemies, al-Jazeera and Hamas are blaming everyone except themselves. They can only throw shoes that miss the target. Now Bush is the best shoe-ducking President and the Arabs still don't know what to do.
CHAN KS,
06-01-2009
- Malaysia
Yes, al-Jazeera is biased against Israel. They are good at showing the bodies of dead children to gain sympathy for the Hamas leaders who are hiding like sewer rats in mosques and civilian areas. Instead of fighting their enemies, al-Jazeera and Hamas are blaming everyone except themselves. They can only throw shoes that miss the target. Now Bush is the best shoe-ducking President and the Arabs still don't know what to do.
