Countering online misinformation on the Israel-Gaza conflict

23 November 2023

While today’s front pages in the UK are dominated by the reaction to yesterday’s Autumn Statement, the big international focus continues to be the Israel-Gaza conflict, particularly given the prospect of a pause in fighting and a deal for the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees. 

Since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, Full Fact has seen a surge in connected online misinformation.

We’ve published more than 30 fact checks on this, many to do with the sharing of images and videos which purport to relate to the current conflict, but on closer inspection turn out to show completely different events. Recent examples include footage falsely alleging to show an Israeli police officer killing a Palestinian child, a miscaptioned video supposedly of Palestinians faking injuries, and one wrongly claiming to show the destruction of the Palestinian parliament building in Gaza. 

None of these videos actually showed what was claimed—although as a warning, much of this content is violent and distressing regardless. 

We’ve also fact checked claims by UK politicians that relate to the conflict, including government statements about doubling aid for Palestinian civilians, and comments by MPs relating to protests in London and other UK cities in recent weeks. 

You can find the full list of Israel-Gaza fact checks on our website here, and you can read our guide on how to spot misleading videos here.

Full Fact fights bad information

Bad information ruins lives. It promotes hate, damages people’s health, and hurts democracy. You deserve better.

Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from Full Fact for updates on politics, immigration, health and more. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce, so you will also get occasional emails about fundraising and other ways you can help. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy.