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#Twitter Wars
This article first appeared in the IDF blog and has been adapted.
Two photos tweeted in the past 24 hours, both allegedly depicting the results of Israeli air strikes in Gaza in recent days, have been proven false.
1. The photo first tweeted by Khulood Badawi (@KhuloodBadawi) and later by Diana Alzeer (@ManaraRam), allegedly depicting a Palestinian girl killed by an Israeli air strike yesterday, was proven to have originated in 2006 and to have had nothing at all to do with Israeli action. This photo is now the top tweet for #Gaza, with over 300 retweets. It is completely false.
Both were refuted by tweeter Avi Mayer (@avimayer), who found that the photo dated back to 2009 at least.
Further research revealed that the photo was taken in 2006 by Reuters, and that the girl, initially thought to have been killed in an Israeli air strike, was injured by falling off a swing. When confronted with this information, Alzeer stated that the photo was taken last night and forwarded to the press that day.
The original tweets, however, have already been picked up by hundreds of others and continue to circulate around the web, despite having been thoroughly disproven.
2. A second photo tweeted Maissam Nablussi (@Nablussi), allegedly showing an aerial strike in Gaza today, was proven to have been in circulation back in 2009, completely unrelated to the current round of violence.
On March 11, Nablussi uploaded a photo to Facebook, claiming it depicted “Gaza under attack today”
The photo was revealed to have first appeared on various websites, including that of Reuters, in 2009, following Operation Cast Lead.
After the truth behind the image was revealed, Nablussi blocked access to the Facebook post. She has yet to retract her claim regarding yesterday’s aerial strike. Neither has GazaYBO.
This isn’t the first time people have spread false information about the IDF.
A photo of an IDF soldier purportedly stepping on a Palestinian girl in an act of brutality was recently debunked, after having been proven to be captured in Bahrain in December 2009.
The photo was identified as staged due to several fallacies, such as the use of an AK-47 rifle, which the IDF doesn’t use, as well as inconsistencies with the imposter’s uniform, and with operational reports from the field.
This article first appeared in the IDF blog and has been adapted.