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How Hamas Manipulates the Media and Controls the Narrative About Israel
A flag is flown during a protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, outside the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman
Throughout the current Israel-Hamas war, HonestReporting has exposed ties between employees of mainstream media organizations and the terrorist rulers of the Gaza Strip.
From freelancers who crossed into southern Israel with Hamas terrorists during the October 7 massacre, to Palestinian journalists who were honored by Hamas for their collaborative work with the Hamas Government Media Office, there is strong evidence for Hamas’ control and manipulation of the narratives that emerge from the Gaza Strip. This biased messaging helps shape the way that the conflict is reported on around the world.
However, it is not only local Gazan journalists whose work falls under the tyrannical thumb of Hamas.
Throughout its 17 years of control over Gaza, Hamas has also wielded its violent power to censor the reports of foreign journalists and ensure that only news sanctioned by the internationally recognized terror group sees the light of day.
Operation Protective Edge (2014)
There is no better example of this suppression of press freedom than the media guidelines that were released by Hamas during Operation Protective Edge (which occurred from July through August 2014).
According to an August 2014 report released by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Information Center, both the Hamas-run Ministry of Interior and the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Journalist Bloc released guidelines during the early days of the Operation on how social media users and traditional media personnel located in Gaza should report on the ongoing conflict.
A key instruction by Hamas was to never publish information about or share photos of rockets, so as not to publicize the proximity of rocket launchers to densely populated civilian areas.
Other regulations that Hamas set out for social media users during Operation Protective Edge included the requirement to refer to all killed Gazans as “innocent” (no matter what their involvement was), to never share an up-close photograph of Hamas members, and to describe all Hamas activity as being in response to Israeli actions.
The regulations and their enforcement by Hamas were so severe that even the Foreign Press Association in Israel was forced to release a statement on August 11, 2014, condemning the “blatant, incessant, forceful and unorthodox methods employed by the Hamas authorities and their representatives against visiting international journalists in Gaza over the past month.”
According to the Meir Amit Center, by controlling the information coming out of Gaza during the early days of the Operation, Hamas was able to craft a narrative of Israel as an aggressor and the people of Gaza as victims of the Jewish State’s wrath.
However, as the Center notes, there were a number of instances where foreign journalists in Gaza did acknowledge the close proximity of rocket launchers to civilian areas. In some cases, these journalists only publicized their experience once they had left the Gaza Strip (and were outside Hamas’ realm), while others were forced to leave the Strip soon after issuing their reports.
Hamas Issues Strict Rules for Journalists
Operation Protective Edge was not the only time that Hamas sought to wield its coercive power over journalists in the Gaza Strip.
In August 2022, one year after heavy fighting between the IDF and Hamas during Operation Guardian of the Walls, it was reported that Hamas had issued strict rules for Palestinians working with foreign media outlets, including orders not to report on Palestinians killed by errant Hamas rockets, and to blame Israel for hostilities in their reports.
As The Times of Israel reported at the time, these regulations were reversed after an outcry from representatives of foreign media outlets. However, as the media outlet noted:
The rules would have gone much further than existing Hamas restrictions. They appeared aimed at imposing the Islamic group’s narrative on media coverage of the conflict by implicitly threatening Palestinian reporters and translators who live under its heavy-handed rule.
Even if the rules are officially withdrawn, Hamas has still signaled its expectations, which could have a chilling effect on critical coverage, AP reported.
Hamas Sells Its Narrative
Aside from the aforementioned ties between Gazan freelancers and Hamas, as well as the threatening and abuse of journalists who are critical of its terror regime, another way that Hamas has sought to craft the public perception of its current war with Israel is by attempting to sell its narrative to the West, particularly through mainstream media organizations.
In January 2024, the Hamas Media Office published a booklet entitled “Our Narrative … Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.” This document, which sought to justify and contextualize the terror group’s October 7 attack against southern Israel, was released in both Arabic and English. The publication of a Hamas document in both languages was unusual, and shows how the group is intent on not only influencing Arab public opinion, but also the opinion of those residing in the West.
“Our Narrative” is a masterpiece of propaganda and misinformation, replete with claims such as:
- Hamas was only attacking military sites and never attacks civilians;
- Many of the victims were killed by Israel and not Hamas;
- This “battle” started 105 years ago, and Hamas was backed into a corner and forced to attack Israel.
Despite being among the key targets of Hamas’ information campaign, most mainstream media outlets ignored its publication at the time.
However, both Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Voice of America (VOA) fell for Hamas’ propaganda machine, and publicized the terror group’s baseless claims, ultimately giving Hamas an air of legitimacy and spreading its extremism to an international audience.
In retrospect, however, given the prevalence of sources branding Hamas as a “national liberation” group, battling “colonialism,” it’s clear that the Hamas narrative has found a receptive audience in too many places.
The Hamas document even called for an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation, preempting the arrest warrants issued against Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
Another more subtle way that Hamas cultivates the narrative around the ongoing war with Israel is by releasing unsubstantiated casualty figures as fact under the guise of the Gaza Ministry of Health, which seeks to portray Israel as an aggressor intent on destroying all of Gaza’s Palestinian residents, not just the terrorists embedded within it.
When mainstream media organizations republish these figures, they are helping to spread Hamas propaganda around the world.
Hamas inflates the Gaza death toll, and the media buys it. Here’s how they twist the numbers to mislead the world.
pic.twitter.com/xemTDOAlET
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) December 15, 2024
Over its 17-year reign in the Gaza Strip, Hamas has sought to manipulate the way that local Palestinians and foreign journalists report on hostilities with the IDF, seeking to control the narrative and sway the minds of uninformed audiences around the world.
Through Hamas’ issuance of constricting media guidelines in 2014 and 2022, its use of violence against opposition journalists, the recently unearthed evidence of collaboration by certain Palestinian freelancers with the terror group, and its propaganda campaigns focused on influencing mainstream media outlets, it is clear that any news emerging from Gaza must be treated with a critical eye and not taken at face value.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post How Hamas Manipulates the Media and Controls the Narrative About Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Bryan Singer Secretly Filmed Period Drama With Jon Voight Critical of Israel for Lebanon War: Report
Jon Voight at the opening night of the 2023 Beverly Hills Film Festival held at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood, California, on April 19, 2023. Photo: FS//AdMedia/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Jewish-American filmmaker Bryan Singer has returned to the director’s chair after a long hiatus with a film starring Oscar winner Jon Voight that is set in the Middle East and critical of Israel, Variety revealed on Wednesday.
Singer secretly filmed the period drama and one source who saw the final cut, but is not involved with the production, thinks the feature is “going to be a huge hotbed of controversy” because of its attention on the Middle East. “It makes Israel look really bad and could be polarizing,” the insider told Variety.
The source said the film is set in late 1970s or early 1980s. On June 6, 1982, Israel launched the First Lebanon War against Palestinian terrorists based in southern Lebanon following the attempted assassination of Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom Shlomo Argov by a terrorist cell.
The “Superman Returns” director shot the new film in Greece in 2023, and it focuses on the relationship between a father and son, Variety added. Israeli filmmaker Yariv Horovoitz is also reportedly collaborating on the project. There are no details about a release date.
Voight is a longtime supporter of Israel and said in 2018 that he feels an obligation to combat antisemitism. Last year, he was critical of his daughter, actress and filmmaker Angelina Jolie, when she slammed Israel’s defensive military campaign against Hamas in Gaza following the Palestinian terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
Singer – who was raised Jewish in suburban New Jersey – has not directed in mainstream Hollywood since he was infamously fired by 20th Century Fox from “Bohemian Rhapsody” in 2017 and replaced during shooting, after several absences during the film’s production. He was signed on to direct a remake of the action film “Red Sonja,” but was reportedly fired from the project amid allegations in 2019 of sexual misconduct involving minors, which he denied.
The director’s past credits include four films in the “X-Men” franchise, “Valkyrie,” and the Oscar-winning film “The Usual Suspects.”
Singer faced sexual misconduct allegations starting in 1997, when two teenage boys claimed the director ordered them to strip naked for a scene in his film “Apt Pupil.” The filmmaker has never faced criminal charges for the sexual misconduct allegations made against him in 1997 or in later years.
Singer has been living in Israel for several years and Variety reported in 2023 that he was looking to make a comeback into the mainstream Hollywood film industry with features set in and around Israel.
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Italian Law Professor Faces Backlash Over Viral Antisemitic Social Media Posts
An Italian law professor is facing mounting backlash after past antisemitic social media posts went viral, sparking outrage among the local Jewish community and public officials.
Professor Luca Nivarra, who teaches in the Faculty of Law at the University of Palermo in Sicily, has come under scrutiny after several of his social media posts went viral, spreading antisemitic and hateful content.
“I don’t want to meddle in matters that don’t concern me directly, but, having very few tools at our disposal to oppose the Palestinian Holocaust, a signal, however modest, could be to unfriend your Jewish ‘friends’ on Facebook, even the ‘good’ ones, who declare themselves disgusted by what the Israeli government and the IDF are doing,” Nivarra wrote in one of his posts.
“They lie, and with their lies, they help cover up the horror: it’s a small, tiny thing, but let’s start making them feel alone, face to face with the monstrosity to which they are complicit,” he continued.
On Tuesday, the university issued a public statement distancing itself from Nivarra’s antisemitic remarks. Despite mounting public outrage, Nivarra has not faced any disciplinary action yet.
Massimo Midiri, Dean of the University of Palermo, condemned such hateful rhetoric, calling it “a personal and culturally dangerous initiative, far removed from our academic principles.”
“Nivarra’s statements risk fueling the very dynamics he claims to oppose. Complex issues like the Middle East conflict require dialogue and critical engagement, not exclusion or ideological censorship,” Midiri said in a statement.
Italy’s Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, also denounced Nivarra’s remarks, saying they “not only offend the Jewish people but also all who uphold the values of respect and civil coexistence.”
“Conflicts are overcome through dialogue, not isolation and it is only through this path that an authentic journey toward peace can be built, an objective to which Italy and the international community continue to dedicate their efforts,” the Italian diplomat wrote in a post on X.
This is not the first time Nivarra has made public antisemitic statements and spread anti-Jewish hateful rhetoric. In his previous Facebook posts, he also wrote that “there are no good Israelis” and that “Israeli society is morally rotten.”
Nivarra also compared the Israeli Defense Forces’ defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas to the actions of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann during the Holocaust.
“The only difference between Adolf Eichmann and the IDF is that Eichmann defended himself by saying he was following orders, while Israeli soldiers happily do what they do,” he wrote in another social media post.
Since his posts went viral, Nivarra has faced mounting criticism on social media, but he has denied any accusations of antisemitism.
“You can call me an anti-Semite when I am not one at all. There is an insurmountable distance between me and the perpetrators of these horrors,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
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‘Six Million Not Enough’: Minneapolis School Shooter Scrawled Antisemitic, Anti-Israel Messages on Guns
Law enforcement officers set up barriers after a shooting at Annunciation Church, which is also home to an elementary school, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, Aug. 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ben Brewer
The lone suspect in Wednesday’s mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, scrawled antisemitic and anti-Israel messages across his weapons and allegedly shared his desire to kill “filthy Zionist Jews” in a notebook before unleashing a barrage of gunfire on students and parishioners.
Law enforcement officials identified the shooter as Robin Westman, 23, who died by suicide at the scene. According to police, Westman opened fire during morning Mass in the school’s adjoining church, killing two children (aged 8 and 10) and injuring 17 others.
Witnesses said the church erupted in chaos as stained-glass windows shattered and gunfire ripped through pews filled with children. Teachers and staff rushed to shield students, with some ushering them outside the building.
The shooting is being investigated as both a domestic terrorism case and a hate crime against Catholics, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.
However, the assailant also appeared to endorse antisemitic conspiracies and express a desire to kill Jews and Israelis.
Researchers at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported they found videos believed to be from Westman showing firearms and ammunition magazines marked with the antisemitic messages. Investigators are also reviewing the now-deleted YouTube channel allegedly linked to Westman that featured disturbing videos uploaded before the attack.
“Israel must fall and “Burn Israel” were among the writings on the weapons, as seen in the video. In addition, the messages on the guns included “6 million wasn’t enough” — an apparent reference to the 6 million Jews killed during the Holocaust, and “Burn HIAS” — an apparent reference to a Jewish organization which helps settle refugees.
Westman also allegedly wrote “kill Donald Trump” on a gun magazine as well as anti-black and anti-Latino racist messaging.
The videos also included images of a notebook with writing in the Cyrillic alphabet.
“If I will carry out a racially motivated attack, it would be most likely against filthy Zionist jews,” the notebook said, according to a translation by the New York Post. Westman also allegedly wrote slogans such as “Free Palestine.”
Images of the content has been widely circulated on social media.
Robin Westman, the suspected shooter in today’s mass shooting at the Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, appears to have had a YouTube Channel named “Robin W” which has since been deleted, that contained several video consisting of guns, a manifesto… pic.twitter.com/B3JJUOIGJp
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) August 27, 2025
Shocking antisemitic messages spotted on the Minneapolis shooter’s gun including:
– “Israel must fall,”
– “Burn Israel”
– “6 million wasn’t enough.”
– “ Burn HIAS (originally a Jewish resettlement org for refugees)Via our colleague @RealSaavedra pic.twitter.com/NFUnkRNlDs
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) August 27, 2025
An analysis of the shooter’s apparent manifesto by the ADL found no singular political motive. The assailant “scrawled numerous references and symbols on their weapons linked to a broad range of mass attackers, mimicking the 2019 Christchurch, 2022 Buffalo, and 2025 Antioch shooters, among others, who marked their weapons before launching their attacks,” the ADL wrote.
“The references found on the attacker’s weapons do not suggest a deep knowledge of white supremacy. Instead, the references point to a broader fixation on mass violence,” the group concluded.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who is Jewish, spoke with raw emotion after visiting the scene. “There are no words that can capture the horror and the evil of this unspeakable act,” he said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the students “were met with evil and horror and death.”
“We often come to these and say these unspeakable tragedies or there’s no words for this. There shouldn’t be words for these types of incidents because they should not happen and there’s no words that are going to ease the pain of the families today,” Walz added.
The suspect was reportedly a transgender woman who changed her name from Robert to Robin in 2020. Westman’s mother worked as a secretary at Annunciation until 2021, according to news reports, and authorities are still examining whether that connection influenced the target.
The tragedy adds to a growing list of school and faith-based shootings in the United States this year. Experts warn that antisemitic conspiracy theories, spread widely online, can inspire such violent attacks.
The tragedy came a week after the ADL released a new report highlighting how extremist online spaces are fueling not only school shootings but also a broader rise in antisemitism across the US. According to the report, many websites containing violent and gruesome material have pulled young people into white supremacist propaganda and conspiracy theories, inspiring them to commit deadly attacks.