Has the media failed us? As Israel’s invasion of Gaza begins, the internet is flooded with fake news about the conflict.
Millions tricked by false claims over Gaza
Has the media failed us? As Israel's invasion of Gaza begins, the internet is flooded with fake news about the conflict.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">What's happening? </h2>
Omar Bilal al-Banna and Omer Siman-Tov lived 14 miles apart. Both were four years old, and both were early victims of the current conflict. Omar was from GazaThe smaller of two Palestinian territories, home to two million people. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Israel and Egypt. and Omer was from IsraelA country in the Middle East, and the only Jewish nation in the modern period. It is seen by Jews, Christians and Muslims as the Holy Land..
Their deaths were shocking enough. But what happened afterwards made things even worse. On XA social media network, formerly known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk. , groups of people refused to believe they had died.
Finding the truth in war zones is very difficult. Reporters cannot always go to where the news is happening. And both sides try to tell their side of the story.
Here are some other examples of fake news from the conflict (so far):
"Tel Aviv attack" A video claiming to show rockets being fired at the Israeli capital was really shot in Syria three years ago.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">Find out more </h2>
"City on fire" Footage of a supposed Israeli attack on Gaza actually shows firework celebrations after a football match.
"Helicopter downed" A clip from a video game was used to claim a victory for Hamas.
"Trembling puppy" A video of a puppy said to be too scared to eat after an Israeli air strike started out with a caption in Japanese.
"Fake injuries" A video of Palestinians apparently being made to look like war casualties came from a 2017 report about make-up.
<h5 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper" id="question"><strong>Has the media failed us?</strong></h5>
Yes! If news companies did their job properly we would all have a good understanding of what is going on in Gaza. But for now, it is almost impossible to know what to believe.
No! The media is doing the best it can in a very difficult moment. We should all be more careful about what we believe. And we need to take even more care on social media.
Gaza - The smaller of two Palestinian territories, home to two million people. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Israel and Egypt.
Israel - A country in the Middle East, and the only Jewish nation in the modern period. It is seen by Jews, Christians and Muslims as the Holy Land.
X - A social media network, formerly known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk.
Millions tricked by false claims over Gaza

Glossary
Gaza - The smaller of two Palestinian territories, home to two million people. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Israel and Egypt.
Israel - A country in the Middle East, and the only Jewish nation in the modern period. It is seen by Jews, Christians and Muslims as the Holy Land.
X - A social media network, formerly known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk.