‘Hacktivists’ are Fighting a Battle of Misinformation amid Israel/Hamas Conflict
So-called “hacktivists” are taking to their computer keyboards to make attacks on Israeli and Palestinian websites as part of a new wave of conflict between them.
Fighting in real life has recently escalated after Hamas terrorists launched an attack last week, leading Israel to declare war.
According to Wired, hacktivists are targeting government websites and media outlets, trying to overload the sites with junk traffic to bring them down. Some sites have reported stolen data.
“I saw at least 60 websites get DDoS attacks,” says Will Thomas, a member of the cybersecurity team at the internet infrastructure company Equinix who has been following the online activity. “Half of those are Israeli government sites. I’ve seen at least five sites be defaced to show ‘Free Palestine’–related messages.”
Anonymous Sudan has targeted Israel’s emergency warning systems and even major media outlets like the Jerusalem Post, a daily newspaper in the region. Meanwhile, the pro-Hamas group, Cyber Av3ngers, has targeted infrastructures like Israel’s power grid organization, Noga, and the Israel Electric Corp.
Another group, Storm-1133, has been identified as a Gaza-based group attacking Israeli organizations in the defense, energy, and telecommunication sectors.
Meanwhile, there are also reports that groups are posting fake videos and content to accounts. In one suspected clip, an Israeli woman is taken hostage by Hamas fighters and pushed into a car. The BBC has said the clip is real, but others have said the woman is a solider “acting” the part to frame Hamas.
Ian Bremmer, a renowned foreign policy analyst, said it’s possible the clips are being “algorithmically promoted” on X. In particular, accounts use AI-generated content to create fake scenes from Israel and Palestine to disseminate misinformation further.
Gordon Pennycook, an associate professor of psychology at Cornell University who studies misinformation, told Relevant that the misinformation is all over social media.
“People are desperate for information, and social media context may actively interfere with people’s ability to distinguish fact from fiction,” he said.
Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/NicoElNino
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
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