Social Media as a Weapon of War

Social Media is being used as a weapon against Israel, amidst the war that began with a vicious attack upon the population. A physical attack is also a psychological attack.

The Nameless One deems it such a problem that he’s devoting a great deal of time on getting the message out to people that what is shown in the news and on social media, isn’t reality.

There’s a problem, and it’s being effectively used to counter Israel’s punch (Israel must stop Hamas from ever striking again). Psychological rockets are used by Hamas in the same way they used rockets on October 7 – via bombardment. 

They’ve bombarded the world with their psychological rockets.

Not only is social media used by Hamas to play the victim for the world, but their tactics are also being embedded in the far left Israeli social media.

The Nameless One makes the point at home that though Gazans are receiving the sympathies of the West, the Israelis still do not have the hostages returned to them (and yet sympathy for Israel doesn’t overcome sympathy for Gaza).

“This is a Hamas campaign to blacken Israel and to bring the war to an end,” he says. “We often get the reports through western media that are being fed by local ‘journalists’ who are usually part of Hamas’ military arm (and remember that Hamas’ ‘journalists’ recorded the horrors of October 7 without helping).”

Organizations like the UN and International Organizations that have previously proven hostile to Israel are cooperating with Hamas, and therefore their “reports” would seem obviously unsubstantiated. Why are they believed? Because they disguise themselves as the victim.

The Nameless One has been following the social media of Gaza, in Arabic, since the beginning of the war.

He says of the unseen (by the West) reality, “Palestinians take pictures of the restaurants, the cafes and the new and original dishes they prepare according to the products available to them. They themselves look good and healthy. Are there cases of malnutrition? It is possible, I don’t have access to the blood tests of the Gazans and I am not a doctor either.

“The Gazans,” he says, “say loud and openly: the aid entered Gaza but was looted entirely by Hamas, who instead of giving out the aid for free – depending on what’s written on the packages and aid bags – sell the aid at exorbitant prices in order to continue to finance the wages of the terrorists and the continuation of the war. Not all Gazans can pay exorbitant prices and are therefore forced to give up various products.”

Having embedded himself in Gazan social media, he clarifies, “What you can see is endless complaints about the ‘blood merchants’ تجار الدم that overpriced all products and hide stocks of food in order to artificially raise prices and share their profits with Hamas. You will also see endless amounts of videos of Hamas ‘Arrow unit/Sihem unit’ وحدة سهم that brutally attack Gazans who ‘stole’ food.”

Further, he explains what is understood by the IDF, “All media, all UN bodies, and all NGO’s in Gaza are either Hamas operatives or threatened by Hamas, so simply don’t listen to them. Even simple Gazans who are on social media don’t speak freely, but they show us they are well-fed and they tell us what are the actual problems and challenges. And no its not starvation.

“The distribution and sale of aid products is carried out through what the Gazans call ‘blood dealers’ تجار الدعم. The blood dealers deliberately hide goods in their warehouses and probably also in tunnels for extended periods (there is evidence of that, products suddenly appearing in the markets that entered Gaza only at the beginning of the war). And that’s in order to raise prices and divide profits with their suppliers – the people of Hamas. Gazans citizens who steal goods are being pursued by a particularly brutal unit of Hamas called ‘The Arrow Unit’ وحدة سهم whose job is to break the legs and hands of the miserable thieves in the middle of the street in broad daylight for them to see.”

Edan Alexander, whose captivity the Leader has reported on before, was 19 when Hamas militants took him hostage among 250 additional Israelis.

A male soldier, Alexander wasn’t among the hostages released during the earlier ceasefires.

Rather, Hamas released a video in April in which he spoke of a dark room. Then, Hamas claimed to have lost contact with Alexander due to an Israeli airstrike – more victim-blaming and manipulation.

An American-Israeli from New Jersey, Alexander had come to Israel to serve in the IDF. Taken hostage by Hamas, he was released after 19 months of captivity – he was the last living American hostage – though 58 more Israelis remain captive. 

Hamas’ act of releasing Alexander was done prior to President Trump’s visit to the Middle East last week, which they called a ‘good will gesture.’

As soon as Alexander’s parents learned of their son’s impending release they flew to Israel; his father had been speaking with Trump’s hostage negotiators, pressing for his son to be freed.

“Please don’t stop,” Alexander’s family said upon his release. “We hope our son’s release begins negotiations for all 58 remaining hostages, ending this nightmare for them and their families.”

Using social media as one of their tools, Hamas says it will not release the rest of the hostages until a lasting ceasefire and withdrawal from Gaza is in place. 

Israel rejects those terms, and Hamas continues to send out the false messaging.

Hamas victim-blames as a tactic of war. Psychological warfare takes the place of what they lack militarily. Manipulation of the worldview is their most effective tool.