In the 20th century, society has seen more public figureheads and celebrities with no political power or knowledge taking stances on human rights issues, social justice efforts, and international affairs. The war the world is in now is not one of artillery, but one of disinformation and swaying public opinion. Seeing the effect that Taylor Swift can have on sports ticket sales, there’s no question that people follow suit in the opinions (and financial transactions) of the celebrities they idolize.
The problem with the power of public opinion is that the discovery of it has gotten into the wrong hands. Propaganda wars, though not new to this century, have ramped up to the point of political leaders citing blatant lies and disproved claims as evidence for supporting a genocide financially with its citizens’ tax dollars.
What’s also wholly irresponsible is the contribution that celebrities have in supporting this misinformation war. The same celebrities that, with pride and seeming sincerity, stood strong in their support for women’s rights, the war in Ukraine, and various other humanitarian efforts, have either taken a radio-silent stance on the genocide in Gaza or have shown their support for the oppressors – Israel.
Another thing that’s harmful to the public perception of this genocide is how the war is being refered to by news outlets. Headlining articles about the hyperbolized damage taken by Israeli civilians with, “Israel-Hamas war…” sends the false message that this is a) a war between two countries and their leaders and b) that the sole target of this “war” is Hamas. This narrative couldn’t be farther from the truth. Civilian buildings, hospitals, schools, and all the places where women and children live and have taken shelter are the most vulnerable to Israeli attacks right now. If this were an Israel-Hamas war, then the death toll shouldn’t be nearly as high as it is. This is a complete obliteration of an entire race of people, a genocide of Palestinians. President Joe Biden recently made a statement on this matter, “I have no notion if Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed.” The only thing that might have a sliver of a chance of backing Biden’s claim is if the Palestinians could benefit from lying about their death toll, but they don’t. Even after releasing the names of every civilian man, woman, and child who was killed (to disprove the false claims made by Biden), many people still don’t believe them because of how fixed the false narrative is.
I say many people and not everyone in this context because the media can only hope that their propaganda will be able to affect its citizens. Of course, it will likely have that desired effect on people who consume their news primarily from the TV on channels like Fox or CNN. But for a growing population of young people who consume their news from social media, (where it is much harder to build a defined narrative, despite rampant media censoring) the truth has been gaining influence. On the ground journalists (all young, in their late teens and early twenties) native to Palestine are documenting and sharing the war from the Palestinian perspective. Where videos from Israeli civilians “in war” show no signs of food insecurity, lack of clean water, cut electricity, or anything resembling a war at all, the Palestinian perspective shows demolished homes, mangled children, detached body parts being pulled out from under the rubble, and no ready access to necessities like food and water. People are seeing these facts with their own eyes and deciding for themselves what to believe (instead of having the TV decide for them).
We have read our history books and can recognize when patterns repeat themselves. Westward expansion and colonialism is no stranger to Americans, and themes similar to those covered in middle school history class, like Manifest Destiny, are showing up now in our media’s headlines. Protests are not being organized and attended by Palestinian Americans or Muslims alone, people of all different races, ethnicities, and backgrounds are turning up because they don’t want to be on the wrong side of history. Something notable about the overall support for Palestinians is that historically marginalized communities are showing up in their defense (something that could be coined as, knowing from experience).
One argument made frequently by Zionists is that anyone that supports Palestine is anti-semetic. Anti-semitism is classically defined as hostility or prejudice against jewish people. During the Holocaust (an ethnic cleansing that absolutely meets the qualifications for anti-semitism), Jews from Europe searched the seven seas for refuge in another country. Where they found that refuge was in Palestine, a country that accepted them with open arms not knowing they would soon face an ironic turn of fate- genocide perpetrated by previous victims of genocide. As for individuals that have shown support for Palestine worldwide, from mass peaceful protests to boycotting of brands that send money Israel’s way, the sentiment is not anti-jew, the sentiment is, rather, anti-murder, anti-destruction, and anti-ethnic cleansing.
The last remark that I want to touch on, something that I believe is incredibly harmful to the public and shameful for the band of journalists projecting it, is the idea that anyone who is showing support for the Palestinians has been indoctrinated by Hamas. I was born in America and grew up with the same nostalgia of kids’ cuisine, Hannah Montana, and silly bands that the rest of Gen-Z did. I have never, ever been “indoctrinated by Hamas” or taught that it’s okay to murder people in “the name of god” as the Western media wants its citizens to so desperately believe about all Muslims. On the contrary, I was raised to respect my teachers, be diligent in my schoolwork, and be kind to my peers and neighbors. I’m not an exception among my community members either, all Muslims that follow the “shariah” (something that has been guised as a violent set of rules by the West) follow these rulings: to respect ourselves, our bodies (which is also why pre-marital relations and intoxicants like drugs and alcohol are prohibited), and our community. The difference is that I possess critical thinking skills, something that protects me from being manipulated into thinking that I’m the bad guy or that the civilians in Gaza are the bad guys. I’m not a “conspiracy theorist,” I can simply tell what’s right from wrong. Amongst these rights and wrongs, I know that it is wrong and completely unethical to target, displace, and kill civilians in cold blood. You can’t label a newborn as a terrorist. You can’t label a toddler as a terrorist. You can’t label a pregnant woman as a terrorist. Yet these are the accusations that have pushed the U.S. government to send our money and our artillery over to fund a genocide.
And to what avail? The interest of this war is in the interest of the greedy officials at the top who profit from it. Why hasn’t the United Nations called a ceasefire? Why did Biden claim, many moons ago, that, “if Israel didn’t exist, the U.S would have to create one?” It’s because America’s billionaires profit off of war. Take a look at the biggest shareholders that some of these people in “the office for civil rights” have. War, ammo, and killing make a pretty penny even prettier. The natural resources in Gaza are like an unopened cookie jar, taunting the governments that are grabbing at them. Until the elephant in the room comes out from under the carpet, and someone addresses the corruption at the top, life will not get better for most ordinary citizens, especially with the shrinking middle class. In our own ignorance, Americans often forget that our international affairs are a direct reflection of what’s going on within our own country. If we are okay with funding a genocide, what does that mean for the marginalized communities in our big cities? If a genocide succeeds under the government of international powerhouses, isn’t it possible that it could succeed again? If the line of ethics has already been breached for one affair, how much farther will the rules be bent? How many more communities will be subject to a genocide and information war? Some food for thought for my readers, and something that every American should seriously reflect on.
