[jmclnx]

>Meta has removed a network of hundreds of Facebook and Instagram accounts that operated from Israel and launched an influence campaign targeting users in the U.S. and Canada

I do not use Facebook, and I think this is a good thing. But what about Hamas ? I am sure Hamas also has their own bot network(s) targeting people in the US, or was that already done but there was no press about that ?

[ajkjk]

Why are you sure..? They have many fewer resources at their disposal.

[badwolf]

Iran has those resources, however.

[Maxatar]

The article mentions that Meta also shut down Iranian bots.

[caconym_]

Exactly what I was going to say. Like, I have no idea, but this is an incredibly asymmetrical conflict and neither possibility (Hamas' social media misinformation campaign is comparable to Israel's, or it isn't) would surprise me.

[sequoia]

If you think Israel has more supporters on social media than Hamas, you definitely don't use twitter and probably don't use facebook. And you definitely don't use Tiktok, which is overwhelmingly anti-Israel.

As another commenter said, the social media "battlefield" Israel is massively asymmetrical in Hamas's favour. This isn't to say Hamas is using botnets or anything like that, my view is that the anti-Israel sentiment is mostly "organic" (though it is clearly helped along by propaganda from Hamas and other anti-western groups).

As a Jew in North America I'd appreciate if Israel would not use botnets and astroturfing, because antisemitism is a big problem here in Canada, and stuff like this gives ammunition to antisemites who want to say "all claims of antisemitism are fake."

Winning an argument via lies or deception is a Pyrrhic victory; it's more important to "keep the truth on your side" and maintain your credibility and honesty.

[limpbizkitfan]

I don’t think the reason why Hamas has more support is rooted in systemic antisemitism. The only people mad at Israel for being Jewish are people like me who have the background but don’t like to associate with Zionism or ethnostates in general…

[caconym_]

> If you think Israel has more supporters on social media than Hamas, you definitely don't use twitter and probably don't use facebook. And you definitely don't use Tiktok, which is overwhelmingly anti-Israel.

Can you show me where you think I said that? In the context of this thread, it's clear that I'm talking about social media misinformation campaigns run by Hamas.

To state the obvious: the fact that there is a lot of anti-Israel sentiment on social media is almost certainly to Hamas' benefit, but that doesn't mean they paid for it to be there.

[sequoia]

You said the conflict is "asymmetric." You don't clarify what you mean by this but it seems like a safe assumption that you're referring to Israel's superior military power. I was pointing out that when it comes to social media propaganda from Israel's supporters and detractors, the field is tilted sharply against Israel. As for whether something is "run by Hamas," that seems like a vary narrow distinction.

The Hamas brass live comfortably in Qatar, where Al Jazeera is based. They are backed by Iran, which is a huge regional power aligned with Russia, another major propaganda power who has an interest in sowing discord in the USA & the west more broadly and this topic is a very effective wedge. (In the USA it splits both republicans and democrats internally.) Ditto China who has tiktok, where they suppress topics that create discord in their society (the three Ts, in addition to other censorship they do domestically on tiktok and beyond) but have no problem with misinformation and propaganda spreading like wildfire in the West. All of these players have media and propaganda outfits above and below board that have an incentive to support Hamas. So as for the "social media propaganda war" I'd say Israel is the one outgunned.

"that doesn't mean they paid for it" I wish you had read to the second paragraph of my comment, you'd see we agree. To wit: "This isn't to say Hamas is using botnets or anything like that, my view is that the anti-Israel sentiment is mostly 'organic'"

[caconym_]

> I wish you had read to the second paragraph of my comment, you'd see we agree.

I wish you'd read my first comment before responding to a grossly distorted version of it that was clearly a result of projection on your part. I guess I'm a bit confused by what you mean by "organic", though, because your first two paragraphs imply that the popular anti-Israel sentiment in the West is largely driven by intentional propaganda and misinformation operations, which is the opposite of what I'd call organic.

IMO, unless news media outlets like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal are bankrolled by actors such as Iran, Russia, and China, the simple facts of the war and resulting humanitarian crisis in Gaza—as credibly reported by such outlets—are more than enough to tilt popular opinion against Israel. That is what I mean by "organic".

[limpbizkitfan]

Hamas is probably too busy defending their homeland against the collective “technological might” of the West’s military industrial complex.

[invalidname]

They are not "defending their homeland" they are perpetuating an endless holy war. Israel offered the Palestinians a country twice. Including Jerusalem. Was turned down. Hamas is in it to take the entire country, they are holding civilian hostages so the war won't end.

[beardyw]

Whataboutism

"The communication intent is often to distract from the content of a topic"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism#:~:text=Whatabo...