Inside Story

Gaza and Israel: War of the hashtags

How instant access to online images and information is helping to shape global reaction to the Israel-Gaza war.

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas intensifies, so too does the battle being waged online. 

For generations, propaganda has always unfolded alongside warfare; but conflicts now are coming under increased scrutiny through social media.

An information war is being waged online by journalists, by individuals and by the Israeli and Hamas media machines.

The hashtag #GazaUnderAttack has been used in more than 4 million Twitter posts, compared to the nearly 200,000 for #IsraelUnderFire.

But is it possible to determine who is winning the cyber battle for public support?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:  

Ben White – a researcher and writer for Middle East Monitor, and an author and journalist on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Mohamed Nanabhay – former head of online at Al Jazeera English, a media adviser and board member of Global Voices Online.

Mitchell Barak – a pollster, commentator and political communications specialist, and former media adviser to Israeli president Shimon Peres.