Nearly 100 hostages were released by Hamas this week as part of a temporary ceasefire in the conflict. Since the start of the war, 111 hostages held by Hamas have been released, including 81 Israeli citizens and 30 foreign workers; approximately 137 hostages are still being held in captivity in the Gaza Strip. As part of the deal, Israel released 150 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons. Israeli government officials have said they are open to extending the ceasefire if Hamas releases more Israeli hostages. 

 

Many people on social media praised the humanitarian pause and welcomed the Israeli hostages back home, with some calling for a longer-term ceasefire. 

 

While news sources have been careful to distinguish between Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, social media users have used the term “hostage” more loosely when referencing criminals held in Israeli prisons, with many referencing the deal as a hostage exchange. The hostages held by Hamas and other terrorist groups are innocent civilians, while Palestinians in Israeli prisons have been arrested largely for violent crimes and many of them are affiliated with Hamas.

 

Through the next several sections, we will unpack specific instances of misinformation and propaganda used to promote Hamas terrorism.

The Hamas-affiliated Shebab News Agency released a letter Monday supposedly penned by Danielle Aloni, an Israeli hostage released by Hamas, in which she thanked her Hamas captors for the “extraordinary humanity” displayed towards her and her five-year-old daughter. The Aloni family quickly dismissed the note as a piece of Hamas propaganda attempting to erase the atrocities committed by the terrorists.

 

The letter initially spread on social media as evidence of Hamas’ humanity and proper treatment of Israeli prisoners. This conversation amassed over 40,000 mentions in the first five hours after its release, according to the FCAS Command Center, but quickly decreased after the letter was exposed as propaganda. It is not clear if Aloni wrote the note under duress or if it is fake. Yet, as more horrific details are being shared by released hostages about their experiences in Hamas captivity, the narrative of Hamas’ “extraordinary humanity” is being shattered.

At the time the letter was released, Danielle Aloni had four family members still being held captive by Hamas. Three have since been released, but her sister’s husband, David Cunio, is still being held hostage in the Gaza Strip.

Videos of Israeli hostages waving and smiling as they were released from Hamas captivity have been widely shared on social media since the first round of hostages returned to Israel. Users supporting the Palestinians have shared the videos in attempts to portray Hamas as a humanitarian organization, receiving millions of views on social media. Others have argued that the posts are more examples of Hamas propaganda spreading on social media. The videos were also used to compare the alleged treatment of Israeli hostages by Hamas and the alleged treatment of Palestinian prisoners by Israel, with users sharing images side by side to paint Hamas as a humanitarian organization and Israel as a terrorist state. The viral videos were filmed, edited, and released by Hamas, with many arguing the hostages’ gestures were staged and made under duress. 

Other videos circulating on social media paint a different picture. One video released by Hamas shows hostages being told to “keep waving” for the camera. Another video shows an elderly lady slapping away the hand of a Hamas terrorist as he attempts to help her out of the car. Some online users suggested the hostages may be complying with hostage demands because they still have family members being held by Hamas.

Model Gigi Hadid faced significant backlash this week after posting misinformed Instagram stories to her 79 million followers. She posted one story saying Israel is the only country in the world that holds children as prisoners of war, citing Ahmad Manasra, who was convicted for stabbing Israelis, as an example. Hadid posted another story claiming Israel harvests Palestinian organs, which is an antisemitic blood libel. 

 

Hadid deleted her stories and has since apologized for spreading misinformation to her audience and reinforced her support for the Free Palestine movement. 

Hadid received widespread criticism online, with many users denouncing her for abusing her platform to spread anti-Israel libel. Pro-Palestinian activists online, however, denounced her for posting an apology, claiming she “caved to Zionist pressure.”

 

Hamas propagandists are using AI to push false narratives online, generating fake war images and videos to gain sympathy for their cause. Hamas sympathizers are distributing fake photos of infants and children crying and covered in blood to vilify and turn public opinion against Israel. 

There are ways to identify the images as AI-generated, including additional fingers and exaggerated facial expressions. One example even incorrectly generates a Palestinian flag on a child’s shirt, with colored lines spreading outside the flag’s borders. Social media users have been spreading these types of images without closely examining its details, spreading false narratives around the Israel-Hamas war.

 

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and Hillel International released a report this week comparing the climate on American college campuses before and after the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7. The report found that Jewish college students are feeling less comfortable and safe on campus since the conflict began. Some of the major findings include:

For the full report, click here.

 

 

 

 

info@fcas.org | fcas.org