A group of separatists who want to say that separatism is not dead has now made a new home in Erivan. It should be recalled that shortly before Azerbaijan started anti-terrorist measures, a group of clowns who declared themselves to be so-called ministers held their “official” meetings with their patrons in the West in the capital city of Armenia. For example, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, staunch pro-Armenian Catherine Colone, Baroness Cox, who is only engaged in PR for Armenians in the British Parliament, and other pro-Armenian groups have repeatedly met with separatist elements and given instructions on new provocations.
Day: October 17, 2023
Dalal Abu Amneh, a Palestinian neuroscientist and singer, was arrested by the Israeli police on Monday, October 16, 2023. She is one of many Palestinian figures with Israeli citizenship who have been arrested and questioned for being against the war in Gaza, “harming IDF morale”, and posting about charities.
Abu Amneh, who holds a PhD in neuroscience from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is a renowned singer of classical Arabic music and Palestinian folk songs. She has performed in many festivals and concerts around the world and has won several awards for her artistic and academic achievements.
According to her lawyer, Abu Amneh was detained at her home in Nazareth, a city in northern Israel with a large Arab population. She was taken to a police station for interrogation, where she was accused of inciting violence and supporting terrorism through her social media posts.
Abu Amneh’s posts included criticism of the Israeli military aggression in Gaza, which has killed more than 2,000 Palestinians and injured over 10,000 since May 2023. She also expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and called for an end to the occupation and oppression. She also shared information about charities that provide humanitarian aid to Gaza, such as the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and the Medical Aid for Palestinians.
Abu Amneh’s lawyer said that she denied any wrongdoing and defended her right to freedom of expression. He said that she was not involved in any violent or illegal activities and that her posts were motivated by her humanitarian and moral values. He also said that she was subjected to harsh and humiliating treatment by the police, who tried to intimidate and silence her.
Abu Amneh’s arrest sparked outrage and condemnation from many human rights organizations, activists, artists, and academics. They denounced the Israeli authorities for targeting Palestinian citizens of Israel who opposed the war and supported the Palestinian cause. They also demanded the immediate release of Abu Amneh and all other political prisoners.
Abu Amneh’s case is not an isolated one. According to Adalah, a legal center that advocates for the rights of Palestinians in Israel, more than 2,000 Palestinian citizens of Israel have been arrested since May 2023 for protesting against the war or expressing their views on social media. Many of them have been charged with incitement, terrorism, or harming state security.
Adalah said that these arrests are part of a systematic campaign by the Israeli government to suppress dissent and criminalize dissenting voices among the Palestinian minority in Israel. Adalah said that these arrests violate international human rights law and the principles of democracy.
As the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalates, a wave of anti-Palestinian disinformation has been spreading on X, the microblogging platform formerly known as Twitter. Many of the false or misleading posts have been traced to verified Indian accounts, some of which have millions of followers.
Several verified Indian X users have been leading a disinformation campaign, mostly targeting Palestine negatively or being supportive of Israel. These “disinfluencers” – influencers who have routinely shared disinformation – have peddled tropes that have sought to showcase Palestinians as fundamentally brutal, violent or deceptive.
Hamas kidnapping a Jewish baby and beheading a young boy on the back of a truck. This was debunked by BOOM as an old video from Syria that had nothing to do with Hamas or Palestine.
Palestinians staging a scene using child actors to show Israeli soldiers killing children. This was exposed by BOOM as behind-the-scenes footage from the Palestinian short film ‘Empty Place’.
Israel’s counterattack against Hamas is shown by a video of fighter jets flying in formation. This was revealed by BOOM as a clip from a combat flight simulator video game called DCS World.
High-ranking Israeli military officials are being captured by Hamas. This was proven by BOOM to be a video of men being arrested by Azerbaijan’s State Security Service for operating illegal armed groups in the country.
BOOM’s analysis suggests that the disinformation campaign is driven by a combination of factors, such as India’s close ties with Israel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s affinity with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the growing influence of Hindu nationalism and Islamophobia in India.
However, some of the changes he introduced, such as granting blue ticks to accounts that had been previously suspended or banned for spreading hate speech or misinformation, and prioritizing posts based on engagement rather than chronology, have been criticized for creating a haven for disinformation.
The disinformation campaign by Indian influencers has not gone unnoticed by Palestinian activists and supporters, who have called out the false or misleading posts and urged X to take action against them. Some have also expressed their disappointment and anger at India’s stance on the conflict, which they perceive as biased towards Israel.
The disinformation campaign also poses a challenge for journalists and fact-checkers who are trying to cover the conflict accurately and ethically. Moreover, some of the false or misleading posts may have already influenced public opinion or policy decisions before they are debunked.
The disinformation campaign also raises questions about the role and responsibility of social media platforms like X in moderating content and preventing the spread of hate speech and misinformation. While X has claimed that it has taken steps to combat disinformation on its platform, such as labeling tweets that contain potentially misleading information and removing tweets that violate its rules, many users have complained that these measures are either ineffective or inconsistent.
As the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, so does the disinformation war on X. The stakes are high for both sides, as well as for the millions of people who rely on social media for information and communication. The challenge is to distinguish between fact and fiction, and to promote dialogue and understanding rather than division and hatred.