Is TikTok the new battleground for the Israel-Palestine conflict?

Published

2 years ago

December 23, 2023

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In the TikTok video, a little Gazan girl covered in ash asks for her mother. It’s one of millions of videos about the Israel-Hamas conflict gripping users on the social platform.

The heartbreaking stories and harrowing images pouring out of the conflict zone have set emotions boiling thousands of miles away on the streets of London – and turned social media into a battleground.

Millions of TikToks are uploaded every day giving differing perspectives on the Israel-Hamas war, as a new generation engages with this latest iteration of the long-running conflict. For many, it’s now a primary source of news.

The platform is known for short, snappy video clips that can gain colossal reach as they are shared and reshared.

“When anger is stirred up things tend to go viral much more quickly,” says Dr Christine Cheng, a senior lecturer in war studies at King’s College London.

In the US, Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley has even claimed that TikTok makes people “17% more antisemitic, more pro-Hamas” every 30 minutes – without any clear evidence to back it up.

Prominent UK TikTok creators – aligned on both sides of the conflict – say the platform offers an opportunity to promote conversation across the divide and highlight stories missed by mainstream media.

TikTok itself says it is “rapidly and robustly” responding to the Israel-Hamas war and has accelerated efforts to remove fake accounts and engagement.

Just looking at the numbers it would seem that TikTok’s content leans pro-Palestine, but the platform argues that this reflects wider trends on social media and among younger audiences generally.

“Any time you have a strong emotional response you’re much more likely to engage,” Dr Cheng says. “Social media platforms love that and of course we then tend to spread it and provoke it even more.”

As a result, we end up with increased polarisation and it becomes difficult to have calm conversations, she says.

Short video clips about specific events in the conflict struggle to encapsulate all the relevant context, she adds. “It’s very easy to take that particular incident and then it goes viral, and then the conversation stops.”

Dr Martin Farr, senior lecturer in contemporary British history at Newcastle University, said people have seen things on their phones in the last few months that they will never forget and may shape their perspectives on the conflict.

“It’s been so extraordinary, the extent of the violence, the extent of the loss of life and the sense that people could have that one side is to blame rather than a more complicated and more necessarily nuanced appreciation of the situation,” he says.

“There’s an impulse in all these things to be more provocative.”

Dr Farr also pointed to what he calls the “deflating” of the Hamas attack on Israel as numbers of people killed in Gaza have soared.

Asked if social media has fuelled divisions over Israel-Palestine, he says: “I don’t think it’s necessarily exacerbated it, I think it has damaged understanding.”

What do prominent UK TikTok creators say?

Unmissable with his distinctive short, colourful hair, 25-year-old Benny Greenstein has nearly 70,000 followers on TikTok and his “do you have to pick a side?” videos have racked up hundreds of thousands of views.

From a Jewish family and raised in Manchester with lots of Muslim friends, Benny says his background gives him a well-rounded view on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“It’s just stuck in this toxic place and all we can do is promote peace and diplomacy.”

Many of his videos see him approaching people on the streets of London to talk about Israel-Palestine, asking them: Do you have to pick a side?

“Conversation and diplomacy is what gets you places. Rocket firing and antisemitism and islamophobia gets you nowhere.”

Some people in Benny’s TikToks are clear supporters of one side or another, while others are less sure or say there should be a humanitarian approach.

The comments are busy with users posting in support of Israel and Palestine or calling out “genocide”.

Benny says he is inspired by his grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, and is determined to use his platform to promote peace and love.

Isobel Dye, 22, is currently studying for a master’s degree at LSE and has also been posting on TikTok for several years, amassing more than 164,000 followers.

Her interest in the Israel-Palestine conflict, in particular the plight of Palestinians, was sparked after she attended a pro-Palestine rally in 2021.

“I try and speak about things not picked up by the mainstream media,” she says. “British people are deeply complicit [in the conflict], we can’t not have an opinion on this.”

Her TikToks usually feature news clips and stories with her speaking to the camera overlaid on top. In the last week she has reached around a million people, she says.

Isobel’s audience during that time was heavily female (80%), with 66% aged between 18 and 24. It’s a good example of TikTok’s reach with the younger demographic – just 28% of people aged 16-24 read newspapers in print or online, according to Ofcom.

Asked if TikTok is a good place for people engaging with the conflict, she says yes, so long as you have the right voices out there. “I try and centre Palestinian voices,” she adds.

Debra Barnes, 59, is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who goes into UK schools to talk about antisemitism. In search of a new audience, she started posting TikToks about her family’s story too.

“I’m not exactly a TikTok prime audience,” she says. “My mission is to spread the stories of the Holocaust in the hope that it will educate people and something like that will never happen again.”

In the aftermath of the horrors of the Hamas attack on Israel, she started using TikTok to amplify calls for the safe return of the hostages.

“I feel like a tiny voice, David and Goliath almost… among this massive anti-Israel, antisemitic thing it has now grown into on social media,” she says.

“I don’t post about the conflict because there are so many people who are much more knowledgeable and do it much better than me… I’m just trying to do my bit to help the cause.”

Amid discussion about how it decides what content to show its users, TikTok published a lengthy blog post saying its recommendation algorithm does not take sides.

“The content people see on TikTok is generated by our community and recommendations are based on the content people have previously engaged with.

“TikTok does not ‘promote’ one side of an issue over another,” it said.

Videos are ranked using prediction scores based on what TikToks users have viewed and engaged with previously.

On the Israel-Hamas war specifically, TikTok said it is responding “rapidly and robustly” and has removed more than 925,000 videos for violating policies around things like violence and hate speech.

It added: “TikTok does not allow inaccurate, misleading, or false content that may cause significant harm to individuals or society, regardless of intent.”

The platform said that between 7 October and 31 October it removed more than 50,000 videos that it said contained “harmful misinformation”.

While it might not be an app that’s popular with politicians – indeed it’s banned on UK government devices – it’s clear that TikTok is a huge part of the discussion about Israel and Palestine.

The attack on Israel on 7 October and the ensuing invasion of Gaza have energised a new generation to engage with the struggle for peace in the Middle East. And it’s places like TikTok where that conversation is happening.

Watch Crossing the Divide, a Sky News documentary looking at how the Israel-Hamas war has divided people in the UK, Saturday 23 December at 9pm.

World

‘At least 59 killed’ in Gaza after Israeli military opens fire near aid centre and carries out strikes

Published

46 mins ago

July 12, 2025

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'At least 59 killed' in Gaza after Israeli military opens fire near aid centre and carries out strikes

At least 59 Palestinians have reportedly been killed after the Israeli military opened fire near an aid centre in Gaza and carried out strikes across the territory.

The Red Cross, which operates a field hospital in Rafah, said 25 people were “declared dead upon arrival” and “six more died after admittance” following gunfire near an aid distribution centre in the southern Gazan city.

The humanitarian organisation added that it also received 132 patients “suffering from weapon-related injuries” after the incident.

The Red Cross said: “The overwhelming majority of these patients sustained gunshot wounds, and all responsive individuals reported they were attempting to access food distribution sites.”

The organisation said the number of deaths marks the hospital’s “largest influx of fatalities” since it began operations in May last year.

The IDF has said it fired “warning shots” near the aid distribution site but it was “not aware of injured individuals” as a result.

It said in a statement: “Earlier today, several suspects were identified approaching IDF troops operating in the Rafah area, posing a threat to the troops, hundreds of metres from the aid distribution site.

“IDF troops operated in order to prevent the suspects from approaching them and fired warning shots.”

Mother’s despair over shooting

Somia Alshaar told Sky News her 17-year-old son Nasir was shot dead while visiting the aid centre after she told him not to go.

She said: “He went to get us tahini so we could eat.

“He went to get flour. He told me ‘mama, we don’t have tahini. Today I’ll bring you flour. Even if it kills me, I will get you flour’.

“He left the house and didn’t return. They told me at the hospital: your son…’Oh God, oh Lord’.”

Asked where her son was shot, she replied: “In the chest. Yes, in the chest.”

‘A policy of mass murder’

Hassan Omran, a paramedic with Gaza’s ministry of health, told Sky News after the incident that humanitarian aid centres in Gaza are now “centres of mass death”.

Speaking in Khan Younis, he said: “Today, there were more than 150 injuries and more than 20 martyrs at the aid distribution centres… the Israeli occupation deliberately kills and commits genocide. The Israeli occupation is carrying out a policy of mass murder.

“They call people to come get their daily food, and then, when citizens arrive at these centres, they are killed in cold blood.

“All the victims have gunshot wounds to the head and chest, meaning the enemy is committing these crimes deliberately.”

Israel has rejected genocide accusations and denies targeting civilians.

‘Lies being peddled’

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the controversial US and Israeli-backed group which operates the distribution centre near Rafah, said: “Hamas is claiming there was violence at our aid distribution sites today. False.

“Once again, there were no incidents at or in the immediate vicinity of our sites.

“But that’s not stopping some from spreading the lies being peddled by ‘officials’ at the Hamas-controlled Nasser Hospital.”

The Red Cross said its field hospital in Rafah has recorded more than 250 fatalities and treated more than 3,400 “weapon-wounded patients” since new food distribution sites were set up in Gaza on 27 May.

It comes after four children and two women were among at least 13 people who died in Deir al Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli strikes pounded the area starting late on Friday, officials in Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the territory said.

Fifteen others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not responded to a request for comment on the reported deaths.

Israeli has been carrying out attacks in Gaza since Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages on 7 October 2023.

Hamas still holds 50 hostages, with fewer than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

US President Donald Trump has said he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war.

But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there were no signs of a breakthrough.

The latest fatalities in Gaza comes as a 20-year-old Palestinian-American man was beaten to death by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, the Palestinian Health ministry said.

Sayafollah Musallet, also known as Saif, was killed during a confrontation between Palestinians and settlers in Sinjil, north of Ramallah, the ministry said.

A second man, Hussein Al-Shalabi, 23, died after being shot in the chest.

Mr Musallet’s family, from Tampa Florida, has called on the US State Department to lead an “immediate investigation”.

A State Department spokesperson said it was aware of the incident but it had no further comment “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones” of the reported victim.

The Israeli military said the confrontation broke out after Palestinians threw rocks at Israelis, lightly injuring them.

World

Backlash as Air India crash report points to possible human error – here’s what experts think

Published

4 hours ago

July 12, 2025

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Backlash as Air India crash report points to possible human error - here's what experts think

As investigators continue to piece together the full picture, early findings of the Air India crash are pointing towards a critical area of concern — the aircraft’s fuel control switches.

The flight, bound for London Gatwick, crashed just moments after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on 12 June, killing all but one of the 242 people on board the plane and at least 19 on the ground.

According to the preliminary report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the two engine fuel control switches on the plane were moved from the “RUN” to “CUTOFF” position.

These switches control fuel flow to the engines and should only be used when the aircraft is on ground, first to start the engines before a flight and later to shut them down at the gate.

They are designed so they’re unlikely to be changed accidentally, pointing to possible human error on the Air India flight.

The findings include the final conversation between the pilots and show there was confusion in the cockpit as well.

When one pilot asked the other why he cut off the fuel, he responded to say he did not do so.

Moments later, a Mayday call was made from the cockpit, but the plane could not regain power quickly enough and plummeted to the ground.

Captain Amit Singh, founder of Safety Matters Foundation, an organisation dedicated to aviation safety, told Sky News: “This exchange indicates that the engine shutdowns were uncommanded.

“However, the report does not identify the cause – whether it was crew error, mechanical malfunction, or electronic failure.”

Previous warning of ‘possible fuel switch issue’

“The Boeing 787 uses spring-loaded locking mechanisms on its fuel control switches to prevent accidental movement,” Mr Singh explained.

But a previous bulletin from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “warned that these switches might be installed with the locking feature disengaged,” he said.

This could “make them susceptible to unintended movement due to vibration, contact, or quadrant flex”, he added.

Speaking to Sky News, aviation expert Terry Tozner said: “The take-off was normal, the aircraft rotated at the correct speed left the ground and almost immediately, the cut-off switches were selected to off, one then two.

“But nobody has said with any clarity whether or not the latch mechanisms worked okay on this particular aircraft. So we can only assume that they were in normal working order.”

In India, there has been a backlash over the findings, with some saying the report points to pilot error without much information and almost dismisses the possibility of a mechanical or electric failure.

Indian government responds

India’s civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu has been quick to respond, saying: “We care for the welfare and the wellbeing of pilots so let’s not jump to any conclusions at this stage, let us wait for the final report.

“I believe we have the most wonderful workforce of pilots and crew in the whole world.”

Both pilots were experienced, with around 19,000 flying hours between them, including more than 9,000 on Boeing 787s.

The report says the aircraft maintenance checks were on schedule and that there are no signs of fuel contamination or a bird strike.

So far, no safety recommendations have been issued to Boeing or General Electric, the engine manufacturers.

Concern over destroyed flight recorder

Mr Singh said “the survivability of the flight recorders also raises concern”.

The plane’s rear flight recorder, designed to withstand impact forces of 3,400 Gs and temperatures of 1,100C for 60 minutes, “was damaged beyond recovery”.

“The Ram Air Turbine (RAT), which deploys automatically when both engines fail and power drops below a threshold, was observed as deployed in CCTV footage when the aircraft was approximately 60ft above ground level,” Mr Singh said.

“This suggests that the dual engine failure likely occurred before the official timestamp of 08:08:42 UTC, implying a possible discrepancy.”

Mr Singh said it was also “of particular note” that the plane’s emergency locator transmitter (ELT) did not send any signal after the crash.

“Was the ELT damaged, unarmed, mis-wired, or malfunctioning?” he said.

The report has generated more questions than answers on topics including human error, power source failures and mechanical or electrical malfunction.

The final report is expected to take a year. Meanwhile, families grapple with the unimaginable loss of loved ones in one of the worst disasters in India’s aviation history.

World

Donald Trump announces 30% tariff on imports from EU

Published

8 hours ago

July 12, 2025

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Donald Trump announces 30% tariff on imports from EU

Donald Trump has announced he will impose a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union from 1 August.

The tariffs could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the US.

Mr Trump has also imposed a 30% tariff on goods from Mexico, according to a post from his Truth Social account.

Announcing the moves in separate letters on the account, the president said the US trade deficit was a national security threat.

In his letter to the EU, he wrote: “We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, trade Deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-Tariff, policies, and trade barriers.

“Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal.”

In his letter to Mexico, Mr Trump said he did not think the country had done enough to stop the US from turning into a “narco-trafficking playground”.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said today that the EU could adopt “proportionate countermeasures” if the US proceeds with imposing the 30% tariff.

Ms von der Leyen, who heads the EU’s executive arm, said in a statement that the bloc remained ready “to continue working towards an agreement by Aug 1”.

“Few economies in the world match the European Union’s level of openness and adherence to fair trading practices,” she continued.

“We will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.”

Ms von der Leyen has also said imposing tariffs on EU exports would “disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains”.

Meanwhile, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on the X social media platform that Mr Trump’s announcement was “very concerning and not the way forward”.

He added: “The European Commission can count on our full support. As the EU we must remain united and resolute in pursuing an outcome with the United States that is mutually beneficial.”

Mexico’s economy ministry said a bilateral working group aims to reach an alternative to the 30% US tariffs before they are due to take effect.

The country was informed by the US that it would receive a letter about the tariffs, the ministry’s statement said, adding that Mexico was negotiating.

Trump’s tariff threats and delays

On his so-called “liberation day” in April, Mr Trump unleashed “reciprocal tariffs” on many of America’s trade partners.

The US president said he was targeting countries with which America has a trade imbalance.

However, since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.

The US imposed a 20% tariff on imported goods from the EU in April but it was later paused and the bloc has since been paying a baseline tariff of 10% on goods it exports to the US.

In May, while the US and EU where holding trade negotiations, Mr Trump threated to impose a 50% tariff on the bloc as talks didn’t progress as he would have liked.

However, he later announced he was delaying the imposition of that tariff while negotiations over a trade deal took place.

As of earlier this week, the EU’s executive commission, which handles trade issues for the bloc’s 27-member nations, said its leaders were still hoping to strike a trade deal with the Trump administration.

Without one, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes.