AP: Israel, Hamas battle over public opinion online

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140723/ml--israel-palestinians-online_battle-ccd8929e65.html

By TIA GOLDENBERG

JERUSALEM (AP) — Beyond the boom of Israeli airstrikes and the stream of rockets fired from Gaza, Israel and Hamas are also battling to control the message emanating from this latest Israeli-Palestinian conflagration.

Using videos, Twitter, text messages, leaflets and phone calls, both sides have attempted to direct the tone of the fighting — for their own public, their opponent's population and for a global audience. Propaganda and psychological warfare are nothing new in battle, but technology and social media have exponentially increased the ability of each side to penetrate their intended audiences.



FILE - In this Sunday, July 20, 2014, file photo, protestors gather in front of the White House in Washington during a demonstration against Israel's military attacks in the Gaza Strip. Beyond the boom of Israeli airstrikes and the stream of rockets fired from Gaza, Israel and Hamas are also battling to control the message emanating from this latest Israeli-Palestinian conflagration. Using videos, Twitter, text messages, leaflets and phone calls, both sides have attempted to direct the tone of the fighting for their own public, their opponent{2019}s population and for a global audience. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Each side has sought to tip the moral scale in its favor with an international audience. Israel has tried to make its case that it is defending its citizens from unprovoked attacks but taking steps to avoid killing civilians on the other side. Hamas has appealed to the world by pointing to the high civilian death toll from Israel's onslaught on Gaza.

Israel and Hamas are each addressing the other's populations as well.

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