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Social media as a weapon of war

Online content has also been used to quash support for Palestinians. Activists have reported having their accounts removed from Meta’s platforms Facebook and Instagram as a result of their pro-Palestine content, while X - which was recently purchased by Elon Musk - has also been seen to stifle free speech.

Activists have also been arrested as a result of their online content with police claiming social media platforms have flagged the account holder.

According to a report released in April, Israel has used an artificial intelligence-aided system called ‘Lavender’ to identify suspects in the Gaza Strip before targeting and striking them, processing as many as 37,000 Palestinians within that scope. According to software engineer and blogger, Paul Biggar, however, one key detail on the methods employed by the Lavender system that is often overlooked is the involvement of the messaging platform, WhatsApp. A major determining factor of the system’s identification is simply if an individual is in a WhatsApp group containing another suspected militant.

Concept, research and text: Sara Khalil

Videos: Middle East Monitor

Development: MEMO's Digital Team