Since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out, misinformation has been circulating on social media. Images are distracted from their context, images come from video games and transcend reality. Many traps for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other Tik Tok users!
How can he not be deceived? We analyze some images for you.
Some pictures
1/ In some pictures, dozens of paratroopers can be seen landing on a field. The author of the publication says: “Hamas Terrorists Descend into Israel to Massacre Innocent Civilians.” This is wrong! This explanation is not true. It is true that the Hamas fighters arrived by paraglider over the Israeli border. But the images in question were filmed during a sports match in Egypt: the video is from September, before the violence in Israel and Palestine started!
2/ Other distressing images show children in cages with laughing adults in the background. The person who shared the video writes: “Terrorists have kidnapped Israeli children and put them in cages. What barbarians!” Again, this is incorrect. The video in question was posted on TikTok before the controversy started. So these cannot be children of Hamas hostages. However, it is not known in what context these pictures were taken.
3/ Finally, an impressive salvo of rocket fire could be seen: Hamas targets Israel from the Gaza Strip, we can read. Again, this is incorrect. The video has been viewed more than 3 million times on X on Twitter. Still, it dates back to February 2020 and the scene takes place in Syria.
How to tell the truth from a lie?
There are dozens of such examples on social media. So how do you spot the real from the fake? How to avoid sharing errors and spreading misinformation? We go to the lie detector offices. This NGO visits primary and secondary schools in Europe and teaches students to check what’s circulating on the internet.
We show them pictures of helicopters shot down in mid-air. What does the advocate and policy officer for NGO lie detectors think? “At first glance I would say this video is a fake… You can see how the explosions sound, but also the way the helicopters’ routes are projected. So, at first glance, I would say. that it is wrong”Ryan analyzes Temara.
You need to check the author, check the source, date…
These are actually images taken from a video game. But they are shown as real. The author says these are Israeli helicopters. How to check? “You have to check the author, check the source, the date… check if it’s not a joke or if you can trust your gut”Details of Advocate and Policy Officer for NGO Lie Detectors.
Take a step back, cross-reference your sources, and go to content-checking sites before sharing hoax-net.be. The only solution is that there is so much content on social networks that platform moderators cannot verify everything.
