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| Be Caution: Twitter (X) Not Reliable Source for Israel-Hamas Conflict Updates. |
"Amidst the recent deadly attacks by Hamas on Israel and the Israeli military's response, a collaborative effort emerged among journalists, researchers, open-source intelligence (OSINT) experts, and fact-checkers to swiftly authenticate the flood of raw video footage and images circulating online from individuals on the ground.
However, individuals turning to X (formerly Twitter) for information about the conflict faced a deluge of disinformation.
While most major global events witness the rapid spread of disinformation in attempts to shape the narrative, the extent and speed at which misinformation overwhelmed discussions about the Israel-Hamas conflict, especially on X, were unparalleled.
According to OSINT researcher Justin Peden:
For various reasons, this has been the most challenging crisis I've ever covered on this platform. Credible sources are now photos. On-the-ground news outlets struggle to reach audiences without an expensive blue check mark. Xenophobic individuals are amplified by the platform's CEO. These are unprecedented times.
When Peden reported on the escalation in Gaza in 2021, his feed mainly featured content from reliable sources on the ground or reputable news agencies. However, this past weekend, he observed that finding verified content or authentic primary sources on X became an exceptionally daunting task.
Complicated by the platform's algorithm that prioritizes users willing to pay $8 a month for a premium subscription, posts from individuals with a blue checkmark quickly dominated the news feeds of those seeking information about the conflict.
Instead of encountering accurate, fact-checked information, X users were bombarded with misleading content, such as video game footage deceptively presented as real footage of a Hamas attack and images depicting fireworks celebrations in Algeria falsely portrayed as Israeli strikes on Hamas."
