Majority of social media accounts claiming to be based in Gaza are reportedly managed abroad, study finds

The majority of anti-Israel social media accounts that claim to be based in Gaza, are managed from abroad according to a new analytical study presented by Israel’s Diaspora Affairs and Fight Against Antisemitism Ministry. Much of the content is pro-Hamas and seeks to legitimize the terrorist organization Hamas. The study, which increases concerns about a coordinated global anti-Israel propaganda campaign, was conducted by the Jewish state’s National Command Center, the National Center for Combating Antisemitism and Delegitimization.

The study is based on the examination of 487 social media accounts that officially claim to be based in Gaza or in Judea and Samaria, internationally known as the West Bank. The study revealed that less than 40% (37.4%) of the accounts matched the location claimed in their respective social media profiles. Around a quarter of the accounts (24.2%) logged in from abroad. In addition, 38.4% accounts displayed a location that could not be verified.

The ministry-led report revealed that influential accounts like Times of Gaza and Gaza Now Arabic were not based in Gaza and managed from abroad. The study discovered that many of the accounts are managed from countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria and the Netherlands.

In addition, accounts that claim to be humanitarian activists or journalists based in Gaza, appear to be managed from Belgium, Egypt and other countries. The ministry assessed that the global anti-Israel campaign appears to be highly organized.

Israel’s Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli stressed that the overall goal of the anti-Israel accounts is to turn global public opinion against the Jewish state.

“The data proves the scope of deception on the network is enormous. A significant portion of pro-Hamas propaganda is not coming from Gaza but is managed from foreign territory to influence world public opinion,” Chikli explained.

“The national command center will continue exposing these infrastructures and strengthening Israel’s defensive capabilities in the digital space. The Diaspora Affairs Ministry will keep working to uncover networks of lies, propaganda and incitement worldwide, and to reinforce the resilience of Israel and the Jewish people in the international arena,” the minister pledged.

Eylon Levy, the Israeli government’s British-born former spokesperson, recently assessed that antisemitism plays a central role in the widespread propaganda war against Israel and the Jewish people.

“One of the problems we have encountered in this war is that many people genuinely want to believe the worst about Jews and Israel. Therefore, the battle is often not a debate between well-intentioned sides. Some have a very clear goal of painting Israel as being worse than Nazi Germany, to legitimize its eventual destruction,” Levy explained.

The eloquent former government spokesperson who now runs his own advocacy movement for Israel and the Jewish people, argued that the demographics are stacked against Israel in the global information war.

“The odds are absolutely stacked against us because of the demographics of the world, because of long-term ideological trends on the Left and the Right, and because of the way social media algorithms function.”

Despite these disadvantages, Levy also criticized Israel’s underwhelming PR efforts.

“This has to be treated as an information war and as a threat to our national security, but Israel has never defined the battle for global public opinion as a matter of national security,” Levy said.