Israel-Gaza fake news: Tracking the spread of misinformation on the war – live
The Israel-Gaza conflict has sparked a flood of fake news and misinformation on various social media platforms.
The situation is so serious that the EU has ordered Meta and TikTok to explain what steps they have taken to combat the spread of misinformation.
Yahoo News UK will be updating the blog below to highlight the rumours, wrong information and downright lies circulating the internet through a combination of our own reporting and sharing updates from some of Yahoo’s most trusted partners.
We'll also bring you key updates on news stories about fake news.
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Account impersonating Al Jazeera journalist spreads unverified hospital strike claims
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The fake account. (X)
What's been claimed?
Posts on X (formerly known as Twitter) by an account claiming to be of an Al Jazeera journalist said they had proof Hamas fired a rocket that hit the Al-Ahli Arab hospital.
Factchecked:
Al Jazeera confirmed to AFP on 23 October: "The X/ Twitter account @_Faridakhan in question has no connection to Al Jazeera and falsely claimed an affiliation with our organization,"
There is no definite account as to what happened in this particular explosion. Hamas initially blamed Israel, while Israel has since said the rocket was fired from inside Gaza towards Israel before likely misfiring and hitting the hospital compound. UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said on 23 October that it was “likely caused by a missile, or part of one, that was launched from within Gaza towards Israel”.
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Does video show a scared puppy shaking after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza?
What's been claimed?
On 21 October the @Timesofgaza account on X (formerly known as Twitter) posted a video of a dog appearing to shiver while refusing to eat from a bowl alongside a caption which said: “Scared dog shakes and refuses to eat after an lsraeli air strike on Gaza.”
The account has 450K followers and, as of 24 October, the post had been liked more than 160,000 times and racked up more than 27 million views.
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(via @Timesofgaza/X)
Fact-checked:
According to fact-checking side Snopes, the video initially appeared on TikTok some five days before being uploaded to X. There was no reference to an Israeli airstrike.
Snopes adds: “That audio appeared to be the clip's original natural sound of an offscreen cat meowing mixed with a music track that was only identified under the video in Vietnamese as "nhạc nền - contenvip."
Read the full story from Snopes here
While it is not known where the video originated, there is some scepticism as to whether it relates to the conflict in Gaza.
However, according to a post via the Community Notes section of X, this video is fake. It says: “This video of a cat lying with a child was shared by cute animal social media accounts in 2021. It predates the October 2023 conflict in Gaza."
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Hamas fails to make case that Israel struck hospital
Hamas has yet to produce any evidence linking Israel to the deadly attack on the Al-Ahli hospital last Tuesday it claimed killed 471 people, the New York Times has reported.
Gaza's health ministry blamed an Israeli air strike, while Israel said the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by militants. French and Canadian authorities have also said Israel is not to blame.
The New York Times has said Hamas turned down requests to look at any evidence, with a spokesperson saying: “The missile has dissolved like salt in the water. It’s vaporised. Nothing is left.”
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Fake social media accounts used to spread disinformation after the Gaza hospital blast
The explosion at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City sparked a wealth of confusion and misinformation.
Euronews has tracked a series of fake accounts on X (formerly known as Twitter) that have been impersonating journalists and government officials - stoking further chaos.
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Israeli couple in widely shared photo not killed during Hamas militants' attack on music festival
What's been claimed?
A photo being circulated on social media shows an Israeli couple killed during the Hamas attack on 7 October.
Fact-checked
According to the AFP news agency, the post was initially shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook with an Hindi-language caption that read: "This photo was captured by Amit and Nir, a couple attending a music concert that night in Israel, as they hid in the bushes to avoid Hamas terrorists. Hundreds of young Israelis were murdered at that party.
"Before they died, they captured this memory on their mobile phone to show the world the barbarity of Hamas and the last image of their love. May God give them salvation."
AFP says this is false. A reverse image search shows the picture appearing on the Instagram account of Amit Bar on 9 October.
Bar gave multiple interviews to news organisations and told AFP on 12 October: "We are both alive at home with our families."
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Video does not show Israel's embassy in Bahrain being set on fire
What's been claimed?
The Israeli embassy in Manama, Bahrain, was firebombed by protesters.
Fact-checked
This claim was debunked by Snopes on Friday, who said a video posted on X with a caption claiming it showed protesters with Molotov cocktails setting the embassy on fire was incorrect. In fact, the video is likely around 11 years old and linked to democracy protests at a police station in Sitra, Bahrain.
Read the full story from Snopes:
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Old Twitter vs X: Israel-Gaza war spotlights 'information crisis'
News update: The AFP news agency has written an interesting piece looking at the post-Elon Musk version of Twitter.
The article looks specifically at how misinformation was shared on the site after the explosion at a hospital in Gaza earlier this week.
AFP writes: "Historically, Twitter's greatest strength was as a tool for gathering and disseminating life-saving information and coordinating emergency relief during times of crisis. Its old-school verification system meant sources and news were widely trusted.
"Now the platform, renamed X by new owner Musk, has gutted content moderation, restored accounts of previously banned extremists, and allowed users simply to purchase account verification, helping them profit from viral - but often inaccurate - posts."
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Elon Musk’s X removes the New York Times’ verification badge
News update: X (formerly known as Twitter) has removed The New York Times' gold verified tag from the website. The move, which a source told The Washington Post came without warning, has not been explained - but comes as the platform, and other social media sites, were accused of boosting false information circulating about the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Paid-for verified badges were introduced by Musk when he bought the company for $44 billion. For $8 a month, users can buy a blue verified tick, while organisations must spend $1,000 a month to get a gold verified badge. The New York Times, along with a number of other media outlets, previously refused to pay for the badge but was granted one anyway - until its sudden removal on Tuesday.
Musk has previously been outspoken in his dislike of the Times, and has in turn been accused of using the social media platform to undermine media organisations that he does not personally like.
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Mel Gibson didn't post Israel's 'end' Was coming
What's been claimed?
Mel Gibson posted on social media the comment - "Soon the end and they know it, that's why they want to destroy everything in the way."
Fact-checked
According to fact-checking website Snopes, this is false. Gibson has no. known account on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Snopes says it found "no credible reporting that published the remark as belonging to Gibson", adding: "Further, the first few words of the caption appeared to have been a poor translation to English by the person who created the post."
Read the full story from Snopes
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Video of Biden calling for a military draft is AI-generated, not real
What's been claimed?
Joe Biden has reinstated the military draft.
Fact-checked:
Earlier this week, a video purportedly showing Joe Biden announcing the reinstatement of the military draft was shared on Facebook. Biden can be heard announcing plans to “invoke the Selective Service Act, as is my authority as president.”
According to USA Today, a spokesperson for the Selective Service System said the claim is false and that there has been no discussion of bringing back the draft.
