Exposing Radical Islamists Propaganda in the Israel-Palestine Conflict
In recent times, the situation between Israel and Palestine has grown increasingly tense following a tragic and cowardly attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in over 1400 deaths in Israel. Amidst this conflict, radical Islamists and their supporters all around the world have been quick to play the victim card, attempting to paint Hamas as innocent and Israel as the aggressor. They work tirelessly to gloss over the horrors committed by Hamas militants in Israel, often using children and women as shields for their propaganda.
Every day since the conflict began, these radical Islamists and propagandists have been spreading false information and misleading visuals to vilify Israel and place blame for the ongoing conflict on them. In their relentless campaign against Israel, radical Islamists and propagandists have resorted to spreading a barrage of false news and misinformation. Their efforts to manipulate public opinion have included concocting and disseminating misleading stories about Israel, often portraying the nation in a negative light.
Today, we aim to shed light on these individuals and groups worldwide who use misinformation and fake visuals to turn public opinion against Israel and elicit sympathy for Palestine.
Here are some of the fake news stories spread by these radical Islamists and propagandists targeting Israel.
A video went viral on social media. In the video, police officers were seen taking different men out of the car, one by one, while they were wearing handcuffs. An X user named Afzal Khan shared this video and added a caption that said, “LATEST: Several high-profile Israel Generals captured by Hamas fighters.” He also used hashtags like #Israel, #Palestine, and #Hamas.
During our investigation, we found that the individuals seen handcuffed in the viral video were not high-profile Israeli generals. The individuals detained were, in fact, former presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh arrested by Azerbaijan security forces.
Islamic propagandist Sadaf Afreen shared a picture on X and wrote, “The innocent children seen in the photo were killed by the Israeli Army! Was this not a crime against humanity??
During our investigation, we found that the picture shared by Sadaf Afreen bears no relevance to the contemporary Israel-Palestine conflict.
An account with the display name “Palestine Online” on the X platform shared a few images (Archived link) and claimed that Israeli forces are using internationally prohibited white phosphorus in heavily populated areas of northern Gaza.
During our investigation, we found that the images showing airstrikes using deadly white phosphorus are not from the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
A video went viral on social media that depicts two helicopters being attacked and destroyed by missiles. Umair Farooq (Archived link), an X user based in Pakistan, tweeted the video and wrote, “Such scenes have never been seen before. Palestinian freedom fighters have shot down 4 Israeli war helicopter in Gaza. Has surprised the world with his versatility and preparation.”
During our investigation, we found out that the viral video is animated and not real.
A perpetual fake news spreader Kashif Arsalan tweeted, “ Turkish President Erdogan says: America stay away. We will defend Palestine at any price.”
During our investigation, we found out that the subtitles featured in the viral video of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan are indeed fabricated.
An X user shared a video with the caption, Ronaldo Supports Palestine #Palestine #IsraelPalestineWar #israel #FreePalestine #Gaza #GazaUnderAttack #Hamasattack.
During our investigation, we found out that the individual seen waving the Palestinian flag in the viral video is not the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo, but rather the Moroccan footballer, Jawad El Yamiq, who waved the Palestinian flag while celebrating Morocco’s victory over Canada in the FIFA World Cup last year.
Propagandist Journalist Safad Afreen shared a tweet and claimed that, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas terror organisation, Qatar’s King Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani threatened to cut off world gas supply until the bombardment in Gaza stopped. She wrote, “king of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani threatened to stop gas supplies to the world if the bombing on Gaza did not stop.”
During our investigation, we found out that the claim made by Qattar_Affairs and other users that the state of Qatar has threaten to stop the gas supply to the if the bombing of Gaza did not stop is false, as Qatar has made no such statement.
A video went viral on social media with the claims that an Israeli Defence Force (IDF) soldier is contaminating bullets with pig fat before using them against Hamas militants. An X user named Sprinter shared the video and wrote, “An IDF soldier lubricates bullets with pork fat…”
During our investigation, we found out that the viral video purporting that an IDF soldier is applying pig fat to a bullet is indeed fabricated. The notion of a Jewish soldier using lard offers no plausible rationale. Additionally, when considering the history of Ukraine’s Azov soldiers and the climate depicted in the video background, it appears more plausible that the viral video originates from Ukraine rather than Israel.
A Pakistani X user named Muntazir Mehdi shared a picture of child dead bodies and wrote, These Children of Gaza are asking where is muslim world , OIC ? At least 1,537 Palestinians – including 500 children & 276 women – have been killed and 6,612 injured in the last 6 days of Israel’s alleged bombing of Gaza. Moreover, he also used hashtags like #FreeGaza, #Hamas, #IsraelPalestineConflict.
During our investigation, we found out that the viral image depicting the tragic scene of dead children is not connected to the recent events in Gaza, nor were these innocent lives lost due to Israel’s bombing. The evidence points us to a different time and place altogether: August 21, 2013, in Syria. It was in Syria, amid the heart-wrenching aftermath of a chemical weapon poisoning, that these young lives were cut short.
A video went viral on the social media in which a young girl can be heard saying “ What do you expect me to do? Fix it? I’m only 10. I can’t even deal with this anymore. I just want to be a doctor or anything to help my people, but I can’t. I’m just a kid. I don’t even know what to do. I’m scared, but not really that much. I would do anything for my people, but I don’t know what to do. I’m just 10. All of this when I see it, i literally cry every day.
Many Social media users shared this video and claimed it to be recent. An X handle named Israel & Palestine War posted an excerpt from the girl’s soliloquy, “ What do you expect me to do, fix it? I’m only 10 years old. I can’t fix this, I am only a kid.”
During our investigation, we found out that the viral video is over two years old, originating from a separate incident that transpired in 2021.
Kashif Arsalaan, the fake news peddler and rabid hate monger sitting in a foreign land who frequently spews venom against the Hindu community, posted two images (Archived link) on his X account, one of a Hamas terrorist laughing with a child and the other of Israeli force detaining a child, and he attempted tothe latter as terrorists. The sole purpose of posting these two images was to conceal terror acts committed by Hamas terrorists, who recently killed 40 jews babies, and to portray Israeli forces as inflicting atrocities on Palestinian children.
During our investigation, we discovered a Middle East Eye report dated January 9, 2019. According to this report, The child in the photograph is identified as Omar Rimawi. When he was 14 years old, he was imprisoned for stabbing and murdering an Israeli settler in an occupied West Bank grocery. The image is nearly 4 years old and has nothing to do with Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas.
Hence, the images circulated by propagandist such as Kashif Arsalaan are misleading, as they were shared with the intent of glorifying and downplaying the actions of Hamas militants who recently went on a killing over 42 babies.
A video went viral on social media. In the video, many men were walking together, all carrying something on their backs, and they were all going in the same direction. An X user named Scholar, shared this viral video and wrote, These are civil Egyptians crossing the Palestinian border to deliver water and food stuffs to Palestine.
During our investigation, we found out that Egyptians are not crossing the Palestinian border to deliver water and food stuff to Palestine in the video. Instead, the video depicts the ongoing smuggling on Egyptian-Libyan border.
A Palestinian media handle, Palestine Online shared a video and wrote, “ Israeli figure Jets targeted several residential towers with massive and heavy missiles in the Al Sudaniyyah area in Gaza.”
During our investigation, we found out that the viral video does not originate from Gaza, but rather from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
A heartbreaking video of a young boy wailing and crying for his sisters, who purportedly killed during Israel’s siege of Gaza, is circulating on social media. The X user going by the username @/bhagalsanju (Archived link) shared the video and wrote, “A little boy in #Gaza grieving for his sisters sees no distinction between an #Israeli soldier and a Western journalist spewing #Zionist propaganda. One murders with a rifle, while the other murders with a pen.”
During our investigation, we found out that the video is decade old and it has nothing to do with the current Israel-Hamas War.
An image shared by the accounts f.zara (Archived link) shows a security official kneeling on the neck of a wounded and bleeding boy. f.zaea shared the picture and wrote, An Israeli soldier kills a Palestinian child, and the world did not move to show the brutality of the Zionists in Palestine.
During our investigation, we found out that that the image showing an Israeli security official kneeling on neck of a young Palestinian boy and trying to kill him is false, as the incident occurred in 2016 in Valparaso city, when the young boy was detained for graffiti on the wall.
A user with the handle @/inpic0 (Archived link) posted a video of a baby trapped beneath debris and how she was rescued. The person who posted the video wrote, “While the Western media is still searching for a picture of a single beheaded Israeli child to justify the barbaric crimes of the Israel, In 5 days and until this morning alone, the Israel killed 447 Palestinian children in Gaza 447 brutal killings documented in audio and video, which the Western media applauds and calls self-defense.”
During our investigation, we found out that the claim that the footage is from Gaza and that the infant being saved is Palestinian is incorrect and false. The incident is from Syria, where a newborn infant was trapped beneath rubble after the country was struck by an earthquake.
The Muslim (Archived link), a Hinduphobic account known for spreading disinformation and frequently falsely implicating the Hindu community by sharing old communal instances, tweeted a video of Israelis singing with the caption, “Israelis sing and dance a song about Gaza becoming a cementary for children. These people are going to love the GazaGenocide.”
During our investigation, we found that the viral clip is from 2015 documentary ‘Disregarding Gaza‘ (Archived link of the documentary) uploaded on March 16, 2015. It has nothing to do with ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Islamist Aisha shared a video of Cristiano Ronaldo and claimed that, “ Ronaldo Stands with Palestine, Whole World stand with Palestine.”
During our investigation, we found out that the recent video featuring renowned footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, which was circulated by Islamists, is fabricated. This video, which is seven years old and originally shows Ronaldo expressing support for Syrian children, appears to have been recently manipulated for the purpose of supporting Hamas.
Propaganda Journalist Sadaf Afreen posted (Archived link) a video of American News Organisation CNNs team rushing and taking shelter near the Israel-Gaza border amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas battle, which quickly went viral on social media. The video includes verbal commentary from an off-camera individual who appears to be giving instructions to the squad on how to perform in front of the camera. Sadaf posted on Twitter, “Fake attack on Israel for the camera is exposed by CNN. Media propaganda got busted. #Gaza #GazaUnderAttack #Palestine.” She accused CNN of fabricating the attack.
During our investigation, we found out that the video tweeted by Sadaf Afreen is edited.
A video went viral on social media featuring a CNN journalist interviewing an Israeli soldier. However, Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis, known for propagandist views, shared the video with a controversial claim. According to her, the Israeli soldier, Betzalel Taljah, allegedly told CNN that ‘the war is not just with Hamas; the war is with all the civilians.’
During our investigation, we found that propagandists like Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis deliberately cherry-picked a mere 13-second snippet from the comprehensive statement made by Israeli soldier Betzalel Talijah to mislead people around the world amid the Israel-Palestine conflict to turn them against Israel.
The Times of Gaza, a news media company active on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter), shared an image (Archived link) of four infants allegedly killed and wrote, “Palestinian man from Gaza waited 16 years to have children and had two twins eventually, but they were all killed today, as well as their mother, in the lsraeli air attacks on Gaza.” The two twins were killed in the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the Times of Gaza.
During our investigation, we found out that the image of two twins has nothing to do with the Gaza bombings, and the claim that they were born to Palestinian parents and got killed is equally untrue and false.
Mohammad Zubair, who professionally identifies as a fact-checker, has been actively engaged in disseminating a vast number of tweets and retweets. In these posts, he highlights the suffering endured by Palestinian individuals, encompassing men, women, and children, while attributing blame to Israel. Specifically, he accuses the Israeli Air Force of targeting the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza. Zubair’s actions are noteworthy for their consistent failure to subject this widely recognized misleading assertion to a thorough fact-check. Instead, he actively participates in the propagation of misleading information, notably advancing the claim that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) is responsible for the attack on Al-Ahli Hospital.
Here are some screenshots of a tweet shared by Mohammad Zubair.
During our investigation, we found that that the rocket in question was launched by Palestinian militants, rather than by the Israeli Defense Force.
An X user (Archived link) who is an AIMIM supporter and a Islamist propagandist, shared the image and wrote, “The Isreli govt is proposing to making a temporary Tent City near the city of Eilat, on the Red Sea, to house displaced settlers, specifically for the settlers of Ghaf Ghaf. Over 400,000 Settlers have been displaced due to the recent conflict.”
During our investigation, we found that the image was most likely made by AI. It was generated using generative artificial intelligence (AI). Generative AI is a sort of AI system that can produce or create new material, such as false photographs. The picture does not depict a real tent city encampment in Gaza or Israel.
A viral picture recently took social media by storm, featuring a striking image of the Black Flag raised above the Razavi Shrine in Mashhad, located in Iran’s Khorasan province. Propagandist Jackson Hinkle, shared the viral picture on X with a dramatic caption, “The Black Flag has been raised over Razavi Shrine in Mashhad, Khorasan province, Iran. This is a call for war or vengeance.”
During our investigation, we found out that the black flag hoisted over Razavi Shrine in Mashhad, Khorasan province, Iran, was to mourn the Gaza hospital massacre and not a call for war or vengeance as claimed by many social media users.
A video of a little girl named Salwa Mohammad laughing along with her father to the sounds of bombing went viral on social media, with the claim that a Palestinian father tells his little daughter to laugh to cope with the dread of continual bombardment in the region by Israel.
Yasar Shah (Archived link), a Samajwadi Party member, shared the video and captioned it in Hindi, “A Palestinian father tells his daughter to laugh whenever she hears the blasts of an Israeli airstrike so she won’t get scared. This girl’s laughter brought me to tears.”
During our investigation, we found out that The girl in the video is from Syria, and the video is nearly three years old.
A video went viral on around social media, showing some security forces treating a young child quite harshly, causing the child to cry. However, a propagandist journalist named Sulaiman Ahmed, who is known for spreading biased information, shared the viral video and claimed that “Israeli IOF forces armed with rifles arrest 3-year-old children.” It is clear from his words that he is suggesting that this incident happened recently during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
An photograph of an Israeli police officer went viral, with the claim that he killed a Palestinian woman and then sipped coffee while sitting next to her dead body.
In our fact check report, we found that the claim is misleading, and the event has nothing to do with the present Israel-Hamas conflict. In the year 2015, a female Arab terrorist attempted to attack a border policeman in the Hebron region with a knife. The police arrived on the scene and fatally shot the terrorist.
A video of a demolished mosque was widely shared on the X platform, with the accusation that Israel is constantly destroying mosques in Gaza in retaliation. Whereas Palestinian soldiers have been given explicit orders to respect and not touch Israeli churches and houses of worship.
In our research, a reverse image search of the extracted keyframes from the video revealed that the video does not show the attack on the mosque in Gaza by Israel. The video is 8 year old, when the ISIS terrorist organisation attacked the five ancient sites in Syria.
A video of a people flying in the air with parachute went viral on social media with a claim that Hamas fighters have descended by parachute and attacked Israel.
Our investigation revealed that the claim was fake. The video was from Egypt, not Israel.
A video of a child’s death was extensively circulated on social media, with the claim that Israel is filming fake videos of children’s deaths to demonstrate that Hamas is killing children.
The video is from shooting of the film “Empty Space.”
A video showing scenes of arson and firing from the top of the buildings was shared with a claim Israel jets are bombing targets in the Nothern strip.
Our fact-checking discovered that the video is not of Israel attacking Gaza, but rather of a football club’s celebration on August 7, 2020.
Many Islamist propagandists shared a video claiming that the Israel has imprisoned Palestinian children in cage. In addition, numerous additional people claimed that the children in the cages were Israelis.
During our research, we discovered that the video showing children being held in a cage was uploaded on TikTok four days before the conflict between Hamas and Israel began. As a result, it is clear that the video has nothing to do with the current ongoing conflict.
Many fake news peddlers posted a video and spread fake information alleging that Turkey and Syria had dispatched fighter jets to Iran to aid Palestine.
The only fact found is that the video is from ACES Meet 2021, which was hosted by the Pakistan Air Force in 2021.In which the Turkish and Saudi air forces participated with fighter jets.
A video went viral in which it is was being claimed that thousands of people took out a march in support of Palestine in Chicago, America. The purported video shows hundreds of people marching with Palestinian flags.
The reverse image search reveals that the footage is from Chicago, America from the year 2021 when Israel and Palestine had clashed, prompting Islamists to march in Chicago in support of Palestine.
A video showing a person firing missiles at the helicopter was linked to the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine by many users on the X platform.
The video footage was acquired from the video game ARMA-3 and was uploaded to YouTube via the RIM studio website. The video’s description says, “this is just a military simulation, not real life.”
Islamist propagandists claimed that the Israel has destroyed St. Porphyrius Church of Palestine in an attack.
In our investigation, we found a Facebook post by St. Porphyrius Church, in which they refuted the claim and labelled it false.
A picture was being shared on social media claiming that the Egyptian President has sent a convoy to Gaza for aid and has threatened Israel.
According to our fact-checking report, the viral photo is ten years old, and no threat has been sent to Israel. The viral image is of Russia’s aid to Ukraine, not Egypt’s aid to Gaza.
A video of an altercation between a child and an armed soldier was shared, with the assertion that the child in the video is a Palestinian who clashed with Israeli soldiers.
During our investigation, we discovered that the video dates from 2022 and has nothing to do with the present war between Israel and Palestine. The video was uploaded on December 6, 2022, by an account called Iran newspaper, with the caption, “The courage of a Palestine child against Zionist soldiers.”
A video of a convoy of vehicles was viral on social media with a claim that a large number of Egyptians are going to the border to save the Al Aqsa Mosque and fight against Israel.
Our investigation revealed that the video is two years old and has no ties to the present ongoing conflict.
A heartbreaking picture of a child was shared and linked to the ongoing war between Israel-Hamas.
In our research, we found that this picture is not related to the current Israel-Hamas conflict, but is about 17 years old.
Pakistani social media users claimed that Pakistan’s Army Chief had stated that if Israel conducts a ground operation inside Gaza, Pakistan will send ballistic missiles to Hamas.
During our investigation, we discovered a lack of concrete evidence to back the claim, thus it is reasonable to state that the Pakistani Army has not stated anything regarding sending ballistic missiles to Hamas militants. The viral assertion is incorrect and false.
A footage of jets carrying out air strikes bombing was becoming viral with a claim that Israel is bombing Palestinian homes.
Our investigation reveals that this video is from the Syrian air strike video of 2013.
A video was widely shared on social media, with a claim that lakhs of people in Israel have taken to the streets and are blaming PM Netanyahu for the war.
Our research reveals that the viral clip is created by merging the two videos together. The first video is seven months old. In the second video, a demonstration is being held demanding the return of civilians kidnapped by Hamas.
The video of a little girl was shared with a claim that a Palestinian girl has died due to internal bleeding in an Israeli attack.
In our fact-checking investigation, we discovered that the girl’s family members confirmed that she was injured, but that she is safe. As a result, the assertion that she is dead is false.
Serial fake news peddler Kashif Arsalaan and his likes shared a video and claimed that Israel dropped bombs on Palestinian children while they were playing.
During our investigation, we found a video by Al Jazeera on its Facebook page. The caption states that Sudanese forces bombed a fuel tanker belonging to the Rapid Support Forces. The video shows RSF rebels stealing fuel, after which they were bombed by drones. Many RSF soldiers were killed in this.
Social media users posted a video of an injured and terrified child. The video shows some people wrapping a child in a cloth, picking him up in their lap, and carrying him away. Many people claimed the video is from Gaza.
We conducted research and discovered that the video shows a child victim of a flood in Tajikistan which was being falsely linked to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
A video along with a claim that Israeli soldiers are capturing Palestinian children and locking them in cages went viral on social media.
According to our research, the viral video is dated 2017. Furthermore, we discovered that after the afternoon prayer on Friday, October 13, 2017, youngsters threw stones at Israeli forces in the Bab-e-Zawiya region. Soldiers retaliated with rubber-coated metal bullets and shock grenades. Police detained 18 teenagers, the majority of them were under the age of 18.
A video of children crying and being pulled from the debris was circulated, along with the assertion that Israel had attacked Gaza.
In our investigation, we found the claim to be false. The video is from an attack that took place in Syria four years ago.
Islamist propagandists shared a video claiming Palestinian Mujahids (Hamas terrorists) killed 300 Israeli soldiers and took more than 250 soldiers hostage.
In our fact check, we found that the claim of death of 300 Israeli soldiers and taking of 250 soldiers hostage is false, the viral video in social media is of the 35th foundation anniversary of Hamas, which was organized in December 2022.
Islamic radicals have shared an image of dead Israeli soldiers making the same claim that Hamas has killed 300 Israeli soldiers and is holding 250 hostage.
During our research, we found that the photo of dead Israeli soldiers going viral in support of Hamas terrorists is a fake generated with the help of AI.
Hence, all of the aforementioned fake news stories and their fact-checks underscore the concerted effort by radicals and propagandists worldwide to shape a narrative that places the blame on Israel for the turmoil and conflict between Israel and Palestine, while painting Hamas and Palestine as innocent bystanders. This situation highlights the pressing need for countries to unite and expose not only the hypocrisy of Hamas but also their global supporters. Those responsible for the grievous crimes committed in Israel must be held accountable for their actions. It is a call for justice, truth, and a shared commitment to peace in a region plagued by ongoing conflict.
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