Who is winning the war of public opinion?

The live-streamed genocide — dubbed by many as the most well-documented genocide in history – gave the world unfiltered access to Gaza.

The blown-off heads and carcasses, the real beheaded Palestinian babies from explosives, the fathers carrying children's flesh in plastic bags, the lacerated bodies of survivors, the limbs cut off — and on and on, have all been captured and relayed. 

And it was not monitored or edited by newspersons in the West but came directly from those on the ground to your screens via social media, namely TikTok and Instagram. 

Against the backdrop of a pro-Israel bias in mainstream media, Western institutions and foreign policies, Israel's military action in Gaza since 7 October appears to have shifted the world's courts of public opinion.

 Motaz Azaiza, a 25-year-old Gazan independent photojournalist, was one of the key Instagram accounts which grew from a few thousand before 7 October to millions. Within weeks, he surpassed POTUS' official Instagram account of 15 million followers.  Motaz was not alone – scores like him became the bridge between the world and Gaza. 29-year-old Hind Khoudary is another example while 27-year-old Bisan Owda recently won an Emmy for her reporting from Gaza beating CNN, etc. 

Lest we forget, even the virtual path from Gaza to our screens was not an easy one. Many "Pro Palestine" accounts faced restrictions, shadow banning or deactivation. Scores and scores would have a "backup account" — due to the severity of limiting and selective "freedom of speech" mandates the social media companies exercised.

Scores and scores of journalists and bloggers picked up the camera and started to livestream risking their lives. Israel has also killed a record-breaking number of journalists in any conflict — over 100 in one year in Gaza. 

Lest we forget, even the virtual path from Gaza to our screens was not an easy one. Many "Pro Palestine" accounts faced restrictions, shadow banning or deactivation. Scores and scores would have a "backup account" — due to the severity of limiting and selective "freedom of speech" mandates the social media companies exercised. 

In between getting laid off, job offers rescinded and/or blacklisted, many from this new unprecedented wave of "pro-Palestine" supporters stayed with the cause. 

Not buying into the 'terrorist' trope 

Immediately after the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October against Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu and top Israeli ministers vowed to annihilate their enemy Hamas. When the Israeli government declared their "severe" military objectives for Gaza, it was the mainstream media that parroted their stance.  

It first started with the false claims of "40 beheaded babies" by Hamas. Even after allegations of mass rape, babies cooked in ovens by Hamas were thoroughly debunked, Israel's rationale that indiscriminate bombing, killing and detaining of civilian Gazans was just in their pursuit to "eliminate" Hamas operatives continued to be reflected in the mainstream media. 

For instance, every time the soaring Palestinian death toll was mentioned across the media in the West, they said "according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry" — implying to the readers that the data may not be true.  

The headlines are another example — when Israel kills, they are written out in passive voice without mentioning the perpetrator. Meanwhile, when Hamas or Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel, the headlines live up to standard journalistic practices. 

But this long-standing narrative no longer holds water in the world court of opinion, which is unfortunate given how much time, resources and effort Israel has spent on its PR machine. 

The three-year-old TRT's magazine story titled "The art of deception: How Israel uses 'hasbara' to whitewash its crimes" is comprehensive. For instance, it explains how "Israel even offers hasbara fellowships, scholarships and grants to foster pro-Israeli advocacy, while a number of individuals from journalists to bloggers work to spin a positive image of the country."

While we are at this juncture, perhaps Israel will do better to tell its IDF personnel to not film themselves while committing war crimes and then giddily upload the content online. Their confidence is good but, ultimately, this footage works against the Hasbara machine and not in its favour. 

The people's march 

By mid-to-late October 2023, tens of thousands rallied in the streets in different cities in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians. Countries in the Middle East joined despite respective national policies against mass protests. 

While several countries in Europe and North America saw mass protests, South American leaders vowed support for Palestine at the end of last year. Some of these countries also officially recognised Palestinian statehood while a few in Europe announced their decision to formally recognise the Occupied Territories also. 

It was so overwhelming that mainstream media such as Piers Morgan's show and American news shows had to bring on "pro-Palestinian" voices and experts onto their shows. Otherwise, it might as well have hurt their ratings. 

Earlier this year, the student protests in the US took a turn, they spread and gained momentum calling their respective universities to divest from Israel. Columbia in New York was one of the first universities to see mass student protests. 

With all these factors put together, it may not seem too far-fetched to also say "Generation Z will free Palestine" as Haythem Guesmi, a Tunisian academic and writer, wrote for Aljazeera's opinion section in 2021. 

However, the ground reality remains humbling. The military intelligence and power of the US and Israel is unmatched, so is their budget.