Hawzah News Agency- As The New York Times noted, videos on TikTok, Instagram, and X increasingly show emaciated children searching for food and clean water, offering Americans an unfiltered view of Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis amid the ongoing Israeli genocide.
This shift in online narratives has coincided with changing American public sentiment. A recent poll by The New York Times and Siena University shows that, for the first time since 1998, more Americans side with Palestinians than with "Israel".
“Israel’s public position, a nation forced into a defensive war and making every effort to minimize civilian casualties, is eroded by more documentary evidence each day'', said Emerson Brooking, director of strategy at the Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council, which studies online communities.
Across wars from Ukraine to Myanmar, modern wars increasingly unfold online. In Gaza, prolonged periods of genocide have allowed social media to serve as a battleground for public opinion.
The intensity escalated after the beginning of the genocide. "Israel" Iaunched onlone campaigns aimed at swaying Black and Democratic lawmakers, sometimes using fake accounts to promote pro-Israeli positions.
Initially, US polls showed broad support for "Israel", with 47 percent siding with Israeli settlers and 20 percent with Palestinians. Over time, Palestinian social media accounts began sharing firsthand stories of the war, including photos and videos from Gaza-based photojournalists.
Documenting events in Gaza has become increasingly difficult. Dozens of journalists have been killed, and many Palestinians have been forcibly displaced. Yet networks of photographers continue to post content daily.
Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are particularly influential among young Americans, who are now the most likely group to oppose additional economic or military aid to "Israel", according to the poll.
A majority of American voters now oppose sending additional economic and military aid to "Israel", marking a significant reversal since October 7. Among voters under 30, nearly seven in 10 oppose such aid, regardless of political affiliation.
Source: AL Mayadeen
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