As the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip has continued since October 7, social media, especially the X platform, is witnessing widespread interaction regarding the aggression and its victims.
Misbar noticed an account making misleading claims that promoted Israeli propaganda in the Arabic language using the name “Hoda Jannat.” When checking the contents of the account and its followers, Misbar found a group of unknown accounts contributing to spreading misleading narratives promoting the Israeli narrative and inciting against resistance fractions. These accounts accused Palestinians in Gaza of falsifying the facts about civilian victims resulting from the Israeli attacks. Along with several misleading claims about the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
In this article, Misbar reveals the truth about Hoda Jannat’s account and other prominent accounts sharing misleading information along with displaying examples recently published by this account.
Hoda Jannat's account was created on the X platform in October 2020, and as of writing this article, it has accumulated 36 thousand followers.
Misbar looked up the identity of the owner of this account and discovered the individual to be unknown. When checking different accounts of the name “Hoda Jannat” on social media, it was found that she is a journalist working at the British journal, The Guardian; she also has a PhD in media and philosophy.
However, Misbar could not verify the information independently, she is not listed on The Guardian, and there is no information available to indicate that she works or has worked there. Additionally, the account did not provide any geographical information or other personal details about the individual's residence or background.
Different Identities for Hoda Jannat
Some Arabic websites that published her writings claimed that she is Syrian, while other websites claimed that she is Moroccan.
Misbar’s doubts were reinforced regarding “Hoda Jannat” when it searched for her profile picture used in social media and published by Arabic websites claiming it belonged to “Hoda Jannat,” the research showed that the profile picture had been circulating years ago in a group of “Beautiful Pakistani Girls.”
Is There a Connection Between “Hoda Jannat” and “Edy Cohen” Accounts?
Recently, several accounts on social media accused the account of Hoda Jannat of being administered by Israeli activist Eddi Cohen.
Misbar reviewed the interaction between both accounts and found that they both quoted each other in many posts and promoted misleading claims supporting Israel during its current war on the Gaza Strip. Additionally, there was interaction between both accounts on anti-Arab posts in general.
One notable example of the interaction between Hoda Jannat and Edy Cohen is a post where Edy Cohen criticized Arabs and accused them of abusing him and labeling Jews as racists. In response, Hoda Jannat commented on the post by attaching a video clip of an interview with a young Turkish man who called Arabs of being animals. she said, ”This Turkish young man gives you the answer Mr. Cohen.”
Edy Cohen shared many of Hoda’s posts supporting Israel.
Promoting Israeli Narratives During Its Aggression on Gaza
Hoda Jannat’s account promotes the Israeli narratives regarding tunnels and other things during the Israeli aggression on Gaza, while Edy Cohen shares these posts. The account also shares claims of other Israeli accounts.
Official Israeli accounts in Arabic have been sharing Hoda Jannat’s writings for years, claiming she is a Syrian writer.
It does not stop at Hoda Jannat’s account sharing Israeli posts during the aggression on Gaza, other official Israeli accounts have been sharing her writings for years.
Promoting the Normalization of Relations Between Arab Countries and Israel
On November 14, Hoda Jannat’s account posted an invitation to Moroccans to normalize the relations with Israel and stand against whoever refuses that.
Social Media Accounts Promoting the Israeli Narrative During Its Aggression on Gaza
Upon examining the posts shared by Hoda Jannat and her list of followers, Misbar found out that most of them contribute to a misleading campaign promoting the Israeli narrative in Arabic that coincide with the aggression on the Gaza Strip. The posts accuse Palestinians of faking the victim role and lying about their dead due to the Israeli attacks.
Five Most Prominent Accounts Followed by Hoda Jannat
Nawaf Misfer Bin Hilal
He describes himself as a writer from the Gulf countries, with a keen interest in Middle East and North Africa affairs. He has twenty-five thousand followers. Misbar could not find information to verify his identity as a writer from the Gulf region as he claims. Some Arabic websites publish his writings on the X platform and use the same bio he uses.
It turned out that the account published misleading information. Misbar checked some of this information; it also promotes the Israeli narrative and accuses Palestinians of faking their causalities in Gaza.
On October 10, Nawaf Misfer Bin Hilal's account claimed that the Palestinian Ambassador in Canada was dancing to support Palestinians while they were dying in Gaza.
Misbar investigated the claims and found out that the video was old and part of a celebration to revive the Palestinian folklore. It did not occur during the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli activist Edy Cohen shares posts of Nawaf Misfer Bin Hilal, including a sarcastic post that mocks Algerians who were standing in a line.
Mahdi Baladi
He claims to be a Moroccan journalist, but there is not much information about him. There is no evidence to confirm his identity, despite having over eighteen thousand followers.
By reviewing his posts, Misbar noticed that he is engaged in promoting the Israeli narrative which links Palestinians resistance fractions to terrorism and accuses Palestinians in Gaza of faking information regarding their deaths. He also shares claims that were shared by the account of Hoda Jannat.
On November 27, the account shared a post claiming that the Israeli prisoner Maia Regev was sexually abused by members of Hamas and would receive therapy abroad since doctors were not able to help her. Misbar debunked this claim as untrue.
The account also promotes for the normalization of relations between Morocco and Israel.
On November 22, the account posted an attachment of statistics of the governmental media office in Gaza regarding damages and numbers of victims in Gaza due to the Israeli attacks. However, the account captioned it as "Results of Hamas attack on Israel since October 7.”
Moreover, the account shared Israeli claims which question the fact of children victims in Gaza and accused Palestinians of fabricating information and being actors.
David Levy
David Levy has more than thirty-seven thousand followers, and while not much is known about him, he defines himself as Jewish Moroccan. This unknown account of Levi also shares misleading information coinciding with the Israeli war on Gaza and promotes the Israeli narrative.
On October 8, the next day of the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the account posted that the Palestinian resistance raped Israeli prisoners and commented saying “Terrorizing and raping civil women and abducting them from their homes, you must bear the consequences.”
Misbar has previously refuted similar claims about prisoners being raped by the Palestinian resistance.
Redouan Mansouri
He defines himself as a Moroccan journalist, has more than fifteen thousand followers, and uses his account on X platform to promote the Israeli narrative and post misleading information.
Misbar noticed that all these accounts contribute to promoting the Israeli narrative about the Gaza war. Redouan Mansouri’s account supports Israel and provides reasons justifying the killing of Palestinians. Moreover, the account shares posts from Hoda Jannat and David Levy accounts.
Amina Ro Mekroun
The account joined the X platform in February 2021, with its owner claiming to be from Morocco.
However, Misbar investigated the account and could not find any leading information to the real identity of the owner or any information to prove that she is from Morocco, which raises suspicions of whether the account is real or fake.
By reviewing the account, Misbar discovered that it promotes misleading information and promotes the Israeli narrative, in addition to sharing the same claims posted and shared by Hoda Jannat. Moreover, the account participates in a campaign to discredit the Palestinian resistance factions and link them to terrorism.
Quraish
The Quraish account is followed by more than nine thousand followers. It supports Israel and shares misleading claims during the Israeli aggression is taking place on the Gaza Strip.
On December 2, the account shared a video clip claiming it to be a Palestinian wedding party of activist Saleh Aljafarawi after he fled to Qatar, taking advantage of the fame he got during the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
Misbar has previously refuted the claim and confirmed that the video is old and is not from Saleh Aljafarawi’s wedding and that he did leave Gaza during the current war.
The account accuses Palestinians who were forcibly expelled from their lands in 1948 of selling their lands at that time.
The account also shares posts of Israeli activist Edy Cohen. It also shared the same claim as other accounts that accused the Palestinians of faking the information about the killed people in Gaza.
Misleading News Published by Hoda Jannat’s Account
Misbar investigated the misleading claims published by Hoda Jannat's account, especially those related to the current Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. Among the prominent claims recently published by the account was a video depicting the dead body of a Palestinian infant in Gaza, falsely claimed as a doll. This claim was published by the previously mentioned accounts at the same time, which indicates that these accounts are working in a coordinated manner and using the same technique of promotion.
The video shows the real dead body of a Palestinian infant, and Misbar contacted the video's photographer, Palestinian photographer called Omar Al-Dirawi, who confirmed that the scene was for a 5-month-old dead Palestinian infant. He mentioned that the name of the infant is Mohammed Hani Al-Zahhar, who was killed in an Israeli attack on Al-Mughraqa village following the ceasefire.
Additionally, the account published photos of people stripped of their clothes and blindfolded, claiming that 130 Hamas fighters had surrendered after getting out of a tunnel.
Misbar refuted the claim, clarifying that the photos do not show Hamas fighters after getting out of a tunnel but instead showed civilians, including journalists, in North Gaza arrested by the Israeli army.
In addition, the account published a video clip claiming that it showed a girl who pretends to be hit by the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and used cosmetics to fake her injury.
However, Misbar investigated and proved the claim to be false. The video shows a Palestinian girl who was in fact injured during the ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza and not feigning injury.
Misbar also contacted Ahmed Abo Roos, the photographer who captured the video. He confirmed to Misbar that the girl in the video is Zeina Ferwana from Gaza, displaced from the central area of the Gaza Strip before she was injured while staying near a house that was targeted by the Israeli Occupation Forces.
Abo Roos explained that the video was recorded inside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah while the girl received treatment. He provided Misbar with photos depicting Zeina's extensive injuries due to Israeli shelling and bombardment.
Further investigation revealed that Hoda Jannat's accounts have been disseminating misleading claims for years. Misbar highlighted claims posted by the account in December 2022 and May 2023.
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