Attacks by Israeli forces and Hamas continue to kill or displace people in the Gaza Strip. But social media posts misleadingly claim Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election led Hamas to call for an end to the war in Gaza. Hamas has called for a ceasefire several times before the election. And the violence has continued since Election Day.
For months, Vice President Kamala Harris has walked a fine line on the conflict in Israel and Gaza. Some of the rhetoric attacking Harris goes too far and misrepresents her stated position.
A photo taken in January shows a large tunnel under Gaza’s northern border with Israel, reportedly used in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. But recent social media posts falsely claim that the photo shows a tunnel connecting Egypt with the southern Gaza city of Rafah — where Palestinians displaced by the Israel-Hamas war have been sheltering.
A recent deal involving a prisoner swap and the extension of a Trump-era waiver have freed $16 billion in previously frozen Iranian funds. Social media posts distort the sources of the money to falsely claim “Joe Biden gave 16 billion to Iran.” The Iranian money has been unfrozen with restrictions that it be used for humanitarian purposes.
Protesters against the war in Gaza raised three Palestinian flags on the Harvard University campus on April 27. Social media posts misleadingly claimed the university “replaced the American flag with the Palestinian flag.” The Palestinian flags were removed by Harvard staff shortly after they were raised by the protesters.
A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi militants damaged a British-owned cargo ship on the Red Sea on Feb. 18 and forced its crew to evacuate. Some social media posts falsely claimed the Houthis “made sure to rescue” the 24-member crew. U.S. Central Command said the crew was rescued by a “coalition warship along with another merchant vessel.”
Claims from the president, a former president and other presidential hopefuls made the list.
More than 100 hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel have been released through a negotiated swap for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. A post on social media misleadingly claims the freed Israelis “look like people finishing a vacation.” But news reports say many of the Israelis returned malnourished, injured and traumatized.
Doctors Without Borders has been working in the West Bank since fighting intensified between the Israelis and Palestinians after Oct. 7. But a video post on social media misleadingly claims it shows an aid worker from that organization passing a gun to a Palestinian fighter. The worker is wearing a vest used by the Palestinian Medical Relief Society.
At least 260 people were killed by Hamas during the militant group’s surprise attacks at an outdoor music festival in Israel on Oct. 7. A video clip on social media falsely claims to show Israel Defense Forces helicopters firing on festival-goers that day. The clip is from a video of IDF aircraft shooting at Hamas militants a day later at sites in the Gaza Strip.