As the clashes in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem have been on the rise, the Israeli oppression of Palestine is being condemned by the leaders worldwide.
Similar news was published by a renowned international British media outlet Express, with the headline, “Putin told Netanyahu Russia could declare war on Israel aid Palestine row,” on 19th May that made rounds on international media.
As the United States government clearly backs Israel, as revealed by the recent $735 million arms sale to Israel as the oppression continues on the Palestinians in Gaza and Sheikh Jarrah, this statement by Russia against Israel was a significant one for international politics in Arab.
However, on 20th May, Russian Embassy in the UK labeled it as fake news, highlighting the part, “Russia could declare war on Israel.” The post got much traction and as a result, Express news had to change its headline.
Dangerous and irresponsible #fakenews. pic.twitter.com/2htYjVOmgH
— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) May 20, 2021
The new headline reads, “Putin told Netanyahu Russia could have ‘military clashes’ with Israel before Palestine row”.
Read More: How fake news wreaks political havoc?
It must be remembered that the Russian-US intervention in the Israel Palestine issue goes back to before the 1967 Israel war, with then Soviet Union supporting the Arab regimes of the likes of Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt against Israel in wars. Similarly, Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration along with Kissinger supported the Israeli side.
Thus, both sides still have vested interests in the region with the Syrian war and other happenings in the region.
It must be mentioned here that as of today, Israel has agreed to a ceasefire with Palestinians, which is a welcome step towards normalization of the lives of Palestinians, while it is sure that the scars of war would remain with the victims for generations to come.
Media During the current crisis
This time the media coverage has been different, resulting in a different impact on the international people. Previously the mass population not living in the impacted areas had to rely on prime time shows to show them a few seconds of news to see what was happening in the region, and that may or may not have been biased, however, things were different in the latest Sheikh Jarrah.
A video traveled at 4G speed, with no heed for the international borders, via social media platforms and social justice movements showing a woman in the Sheikh Jarrah shouting at the Jewish settlers in English, “You are stealing my house!”
At this, the settler replies, “If I don’t steal it, someone else will steal it.”
Such videos got attention and were shared at full length across social media platforms. Then there were some young indigenous journalists on the ground in Sheikh Jarrah such as Muna Al Kurd and Mohammed El-Kurd, both internationally recognized unbiased journalists from Jerusalem making live videos as the events happened.
Such events made people see the oppression live, and people started bashing the mainstream media for not being honest enough, as the mainstream media was labeled biased by people online.
Moreover, the social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram were blamed for censoring indigenous reports from journalists like those mentioned above.
This impacted the international community in a more proactive way leading to global protests, and the governments were forced to react to the events.
This crisis shows a shift in media inputs as mainstream media is being faced with labels like ‘biased’ and ‘fake’, the informal media sources’ influence like Instagram is increasing due to unfiltered and raw content that every Generation Z and millennial demands today.
Read More: 8 Fake news busted: French Mosque not set on fire & more
This ‘Fake News’ is just one such incident where people have lost interest in the mainstream media, especially with respect to controversial topics like Israel Palestine conflict.
The picture below shows some of the replies to the Russian Embassy’s tweet.
