Maria Briceño & Sara Swann
One year ago, on Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. The attack triggered the Israel-Hamas war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, and a year of misinformation.
Images and videos that have been altered or taken out of context flooded social media platforms, distorting reality. Some social media users tried to downplay the casualties, claiming "crisis actors" were being employed. Other posts mischaracterized the U.S.’ involvement in the conflict.
Experts said in times of crisis, especially at the onset, there is often an information vacuum that misinformation fills.
"Everybody wants to know the truth, but there's limited information that's out there, and that creates an opportunity for others to exploit this," said Todd Helmus, a senior behavioral scientist specializing in disinformation and violent extremism at Rand Corp., a nonpartisan think tank.
This war’s highly polarized nature has also fanned the flames of misinformation, Helmus said.
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