Children in cages and other misattributed images
Since the Hamas terrorist attack on Saturday, horrific images purported to emanate from Israel and Gaza have gone viral on the web. If the images relayed by established media are authentic, many other documents seek to deceive. For example, a difficult-to-watch video shows children locked in cages, suggesting that they are Israeli children kidnapped and detained in Gaza. The FakeReporter account, which tracks fake news about X, noted that these images had been published, then deleted, first on TikTok several days before the start of Saturday’s attack. “We don’t know where they came from,” the account wrote.
IMAGE FROM X
Fake news images spread on social media in the wake of attacks in Israel
Fake news about music festival
The massacre committed by Hamas and which left more than 260 victims at a music festival on Saturday in southern Israel was also questioned on social networks. On X, several users suggested that Israeli soldiers were there and opened fire, which was denied by journalists on site and by witness accounts. X is also accused by users of having relayed false statements attributed to the White House and the United States Embassy in Israel, anti-Semitic comments as well as images of former conflicts which are presented as images of the current conflict. The big boss of X, Elon Musk, even suggested in a message to his 159 million subscribers to consult two “good” user accounts to follow the conflict in real time. Users quickly noticed that these accounts were spreading fake news and anti-Semitic remarks.
IMAGE FROM X
Fake news images spread on social media in the wake of attacks in Israel
Canada particularly vulnerable
According to Jean-Hugues Roy, professor at the UQAM Media School, social networks are letting down their guard and allowing content to circulate that aims to deceive. “A lot of researchers looking at this are saying it’s worse than ever. Network X used to do a very good job of filtering out fake news. Since the takeover by Elon Musk, he no longer does it, or much less. » Mr. Roy notes that the problem is amplified in Canada since Meta prevents the broadcast of journalistic news content there. “Meta is blocking reliable sources of information, and Google is now threatening to do the same thing. What will be left? For many people, reality is what they see on their phone. So they will see content whose value will be correlated to virality. And so, in this context, Canada is particularly vulnerable to fake news. This is what scares me, and this crisis is an example. »
The European Union opens an investigation into
On Thursday, the European Commission announced the opening of an investigation targeting the social network attacks in Israel. For Bruno Guglielminetti, host of the digital news podcast My notebook, it is “good news” to see the European Union acting so quickly. “The EU has decided to put its pants down. We see a group of countries that have had enough, and we notice that it does not come from the United States or Canada, but from Europe. » Coming into force on August 25, the new European Digital Services Act (DSA) provides for a fine of 6% of turnover, or a ban on operating on EU territory, for a social network that would fail in the task of content moderation. “This law has teeth, it can have a direct impact on social media revenues,” says Mr. Guglielminetti.
Russia misinforms
IMAGE FROM X
Images of fake news broadcast on social networks the day after the attacks in Israel.
On Monday, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wrote on X: “Well, NATO friends, you really get it, don’t you? Weapons handed over to the Nazi regime in Ukraine are now actively used against Israel. » On X and Telegram a false report from the BBC was circulating claiming that weapons paid for by NATO intended for Ukraine had ended up in the hands of Hamas. The BBC said it had published nothing of the sort. Earlier this year, the Pentagon’s inspector general said there was no evidence that weapons and aid intended for Ukraine were diverted. In addition to opening an investigation into X, the European Union this week ordered Meta and TikTok to step up their efforts to moderate content related to the conflict.