⚖️ 1. Conflating Criticism of Israel with Antisemitism
Criticising Israel’s military and political actions – as with those in Gaza or Iran – has increasingly been branded “antisemitism,” even by Jewish individuals or those from Israel:
- Pro-Israel advocacy and some Jewish groups press social media platforms to remove posts calling Israeli actions “apartheid” or “genocide,” equating them with antisemitic hate speech.
- The weaponisation of antisemitism – the use of antisemitism accusations to silence critics – has been widely documented post-October 2023, employed to stifle dialogue.
This environment pressures individuals and media outlets to self-censor, avoiding terms like “war crimes” or “genocide,” which may be viewed as crossing an unwritten line.
2. Media Suppression: Israel’s Domestic & International Controls
Israeli Domestic Censorship
Strict wartime regulations have restricted Israeli journalists from reporting freely. Militias face heavy censorship and controlled access in Gaza.
Platforms like Meta and TikTok reportedly comply heavily with Israeli government takedown requests – even for critical content.
Gaza & Occupied Territories
Foreign journalists must operate under military oversight, with footage pre-approved before release.
Digital repression is systematic: Palestinian rights groups confirm widespread surveillance, disinformation, censorship, and throttling of pro-Palestinian content.
3. Social Media Trolls & Disinformation Campaigns
Organised Troll Networks
Israel runs propaganda campaigns via bot farms and paid influence operations. An estimated $2 million effort targeted U.S. lawmakers, using fake personas and AI-generated content to sway opinions .
Israel’s cyber bureau reportedly coordinates with platforms to suppress pro-Palestinian voices: 81% of takedown requests to Facebook were honoured.
Troll farms inflate hateful content, drowning out nuanced critique and amplifying hardline nationalistic narratives.
Hate Memes & Extremist Content
A viral TikTok audio trend pleading; “Iran, if you’re listening, just do it” gained 1.4 million views, glorifying violence and spreading Nazi rhetoric globally.
A bipartisan group of 41 U.S. lawmakers recently urged Meta, TikTok, and X to clamp down on violent antisemitic content-highlighting a parallel surge in extremism online.
Trolls vs. Genuine Critics
Social media algorithms amplify emotionally charged, extremist content while suppressing contextual debate. Echo chambers intensify polarisation.
Human rights organisations urge platforms to invest in better moderation to discern hateful trolling from reasoned discourse.
4. Journalist Casualties and Press Suppression
Fatalities and Attacks
At least 178 journalists (mostly Palestinian) have been killed in Gaza and the West Bank since October 2023, making this the most lethal period for press in any global conflict since 1992.
These casualties – some of which may be deliberate – highlight the extreme risk faced by media professionals.
5. International Reporting Constraints
Western journalists face corporate and political pressure: dozens protested biased coverage by major outlets, while some were suspended for taking critical stances.
Oversight of foreign media – especially in Israel and Gaza – keeps narratives tightly controlled, favouring government-approved messaging.
6. U.S. Police Target Journalists (June 2025)
In early June 2025, U.S. police in Los Angeles used tear gas, rubber bullets, and physical restraint against journalists covering protests and ICE-related events.
Several reporters were injured; at least two were detained, with civil litigation now under way.
🔍 Summary Analysis
State and corporate forces increasingly leverage censorship – domestically in Israel and via international social media cooperation – to control narratives and throttle dissent.
Troll armies and AI-driven disinformation campaigns are being deployed both by states and individual extremists, polluting the digital discourse.
Violence, both physical and ideological, targets journalists in hotspots like Gaza – and surprisingly extends to democratic contexts like the U.S.
Social media, once a venue for citizen journalism, has become a battlefield: platform algorithms, paid influence campaigns, and extremist actors distort narratives and threaten free speech.
📌 Takeaway
The convergence of censorship, violence against journalists, and orchestrated online harassment signals a global erosion of press freedom and healthy public discourse. As legitimate political critique is increasingly branded as antisemitic, and social media becomes a contested space of propaganda and extremism, the foundation of accountability in democracies is at risk.
* * * * *
Also by Lachlan McKenzie:
When asking how to defeat fascism feels illegal – we must remember how it was done
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Trump was asked would he call on Netanyahu to stop bombing Iran so that talks with the US could resume (the latest round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for June 15 in Muscat were abandoned after Israel commenced bombing Iran several days before).
Trump’s response was :
“I think it’s very hard to make that request right now, if somebody is winning, it’s a little bit harder to do that [than] if somebody’s losing. But we’re ready, willing and able, and we’ve been speaking to Iran.”
“Israel is doing well, in terms of war, and… Iran is doing less well. It’s a little bit hard to get somebody to stop,”
Iran say it will not (cannot) return to the talks until there is a ceasefire.
In the meantime, the US is pre-positioning B-2 bombers for when Trump decides to drop bunker busters on Iran.
Yes, confusing antisemitism with anti-genocide is common.
I have several Jewish friends and colleagues who do understand and acknowledge the difference, but others who openly (and loudly) accuse me of being antisemitic when I ask them to justify the destruction of homes, schools and hospitals – along with massive human loss – in Gaza.
If decrying that destruction makes me antisemitic, then so be it I am!
Am I justifying what Hamas did? Absolutely not – it was bloody stupid at a minimum.
One cannot trust a word from Trump, a footprint of a cockroach, an airheaded apelike image of evil. Have people forgotten the horrors inflicted by such as Hitler and Stalin, and a horde of others? Death and agony are real to victims, and beyond media mangling. Let us agree on ways to end wars, deprivation, unfairness, humiliation, thoughtlessness.
Less AI would be much appreciated