The war on Gaza was a focal point for many fake news campaigns, with numerous websites making completely false claims that support the Israeli propaganda to gain viewers and spread disinformation.
The content of these websites is often designed to appeal to specific political ideologies and agendas, rather than to provide accurate and unbiased information.
One of the big stories that went viral was the story of the israeli women being raped and sexually tortured by Hamas on October 7. By analyzing the Israeli narrative in 12 sites, Misbar detected that three websites - that published the claim - have employed decontextualized truths, repeated falsehoods to create a misleading view of the war.
Farah’s Family and the Support for Israel
World Net Daily was one of the websites that published the misleading story of the women - that Misbar investigated.
She added: “Brutal gang rapes, sexual torture, and murder of fetuses happened- period. Where are the ‘BELIEVE THEM’ voices?”
The website also published many anti-Muslim rhetoric articles and subscribed to conspiracy theories against Arabs and Muslims.
By investigating the identity of the founder of the website, it came to light that the founder and the editor is the American author Joseph Farah, who is a radical right-winger that adopts many conspiracy theories.
Misbar found that Farah is an Arab-American who supports Israel and is associated with organizations such as the Alliance for Israel Advocacy and Jewish Voice. His book "The Restitution of All Things: Israel, Christians, and the End of the Age" reflects his big interest in Israel and its significance for Christians.
Moreover, his daughter Alyssa Farah is an American political commentator and a former White House and Department of Defense official from April 2020 to December 2020 in the latter part of Trump's presidency. She has spoken out about reports of rape against Israeli women by Hams.
Alyssa participated in the peace agreement announcement between the Israelis and UAE In the presence of Trump and met Netanyahu in Warsaw in 2019 within the framework of strengthening relations between the two countries.
Breitbart and the Strong Connection With Israel
Despite the lack of evidence about the rape of women in Israel, Breitbart promoted this story also till the time of writing this investigation. According to the New York Times, Breitbart News Network is an American far-right syndicated news, opinion, and commentary website.
Breitbart was founded in 2007 by American conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart who was the co-founder of HuffPost in 2005.
Andrew Breitbart was known for his pro-Israel stance. The website was originally conceived to fight what he saw as "the anti-Israel bias of the mainstream media" and left-wing Jewish groups that oppose Israel’s open-ended military occupation of Palestinian land.
Breitbart was proudly Jewish and had a strong connection with Israel, equating the preservation of liberty and freedom in the U.S. with safeguarding liberties and security in Israel.
A Platform Operated by a White House Correspondent Promoting Unverified and Unsubstantiated Stories
In addition to the story of the rape of women in Israel, the story of the brutal beheading and killing of children in October 7 was one of the most widespread stories since the war on Gaza, which was proven to be a fabricated and false story. In this context, Misbar found “Gateway Pundit" that published the story of the babies.
According to 22 checks for GP reports, Misbar discovered 16 misleading reports and found that GP is an American far-right website known for publishing falsehoods, hoaxes, and conspiracy theories as stated by Media Matters Organization.
The website's founder and editor-in-chief is Jim Hoft, who has been a prominent figure associated with far-right news whose X account was permanently banned for violating the platform's rules.
The Gateway Pundit had gained attention for its fervent pro-Trump coverage and promotion of false rumors about voter fraud and Hillary Clinton's health during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The Trump administration granted the site White House press credentials, allowing its correspondent to attend White House press briefings and ask questions of the press secretary.
Fake news websites in the U.S., particularly those associated with the right wing, have played a significant role in spreading disinformation and influencing public opinion. These websites often target American audiences by impersonating real news organizations and creating or inflaming controversial topics.
Right-wing operatives have used a network of fake local news sites to target Palestinian resistance movement, publishing dozens of conservative-skewed and misleading articles on politically charged subjects by employing a diverse arsenal of tactics to manipulate and deceive. They cherry-pick facts, omit crucial context, and fabricate outright lies.
They manipulate images to create false narratives. Conspiracy theories, often rooted in racism and xenophobia, are weaponized to discredit Palestinians and sow distrust.
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