Israel, Palestine take fight to social networks

Computerworld - Israeli and Palestinian forces have found a new means of wartime propaganda - social media.

As the two forces continue to clash, firing rockets on each other, they've also launched a war of hashtags, English-language tweets and videos on sites like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

Both sides in the most recent clash between Israel and Hamas have used social media to provide information and to sway public opinion. Above is the Twitter page of the Israeli Defense Forces.

The military wing of Hamas, Alqassam Brigade, is also using Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to supports its cause.

Social networks have been used in recent years to get out information during a government crackdown in Iran, to topple political leaders to sway voters in the 2012 U.S. presidential election and to get information about loved ones during natural disasters.

Now social media is being used to try to sway the minds of people around the world about the growing conflict in the Middle East.

"This is a really natural move for social media," said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy. "Recipients see the information on social media and assume it's fresher, more personal and uncensored, even if it could still be spin. This could absolutely sway a political outcome. It just takes one picture or video of a personal atrocity to start a movement."

After an escalating series of skirmishes and attacks between Israeli and Palestinian militants in recent months, the conflict has expanded into a mobilization of troops, days of missile strikes and a growing list of casualties.

As the fighting increased, both sides posted to Twitter, YouTube and Facebook in efforts to influence opinions around the world.

In the past, warring countries might drop leaflets or use Tokyo Rose to spread their propaganda. Now they send a 140-character tweet, or post a twitpic or video.

The Israeli Defense Forces, tweeting underIDFSpokesperson, is one of several Twitter accounts from the Israeli government commenting on the operation. Using hashtags like #Israelunderfire and #Pillarofdefense, the IDF is putting out information about rocket attacks on Israel, as well as using tweets to refute statements made by critics.

The IDF is also posting photos and videos of missile launches and damage caused by strikes. One YouTube video shows what is claimed to be the assassination of Hamas military leader Ahmed al-Jabari. It has been viewed more than 2 million times since it was posted Wednesday.

The IDF this week also launched a blog, chronicling strikes and counterstrikes in a flow of updates. However, as of early Friday afternoon Eastern Time, the blog was unavailable.

Not to be outdone, tweeting under the handle alqassamBrigade, the Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian group Hamas, has also been speaking up about the conflict, posting information about missile attacks.