The war between Israel and Hamas has a well-established front on social media. Citizens on both sides, as well as official and government channels, use the platforms to provide real-time reports of what happens on the ground, reinforce narratives and make accusations.
Images of Hamas terrorists carrying out massacres and kidnappings ended up on the internet, as well as scenes of Israeli attacks on Gaza and the siege on the territory.
In the recent case of the attack on a hospital, Israel even posted a video to blame Islamic Jihad for the explosion — the scene was deleted after a journalist pointed out inconsistencies, and other scenes, from the Al Jazeera network, began to be propagated. Hamas, according to The New York Times, used the accounts of Israeli hostages to publish violent messages, threats and torture sessions.
Platform users end up entering this dispute, in which misinformation and scenes of brutality fuel a scenario of polarization. In the European Union, where a recently approved law establishes the regulation of these companies, authorities demanded clarifications from them.
In this Friday’s episode (20), Café da Manhã deals with the use of social networks in the midst of war. Journalist Cristina Tardáguila analyzes how they became part of political and military strategy and discusses how to make critical and safe use of the internet in this context. Tardáguila is the founder of Agência Lupa and a disinformation researcher at the Equis Institute (USA).
The audio program is published on Spotify, a streaming service partner of Sheet in the initiative and which specializes in music, podcast and video. You can listen to the episode by clicking above. To access the app, simply register for free.
Café da Manhã is published from Monday to Friday, always at the beginning of the day. The episode is presented by journalists Magê Flores and Gabriela Mayer, produced by Carolina Moraes and Victor Lacombe. Sound editing is by Thomé Granemann.
