Misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war is flooding social media. Here are the facts

In the days since Hamas militants stormed into Israel early Oct. 7, a flood of videos and photos purporting to show the conflict have filled social media, making it difficult for onlookers from around the world to sort fact from fiction. “Israeli official facebook post: ‘Due to the lack of medical equipment and the lack of medical staff, it was decided to bomb the Baptist Hospital in Gaza and give them euthanasia’,” wrote one user on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, in a post translating the screenshot. “Just to clarify: I did not issue any statement or comment regarding the Baptist Hospital in Gaza,” wrote Avichay Adraee, head of the Arab media branch of the Israeli military’s Spokesperson’s Unit, in a post on X from Oct. 17, when the blast occurred. “All the news circulating in my name comes from the Hamas media outlets and is completely false.” The office on Oct. 19 confirmed the post did not come from the military’s official Arabic page, saying in an emailed statement: “The IDF has made it very clear that there was no IDF strike on the hospital.” What’s more, the Israeli military’s press office doesn’t use its own logo on its actual social media accounts, unlike the fake account. But Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military’s chief military spokesman, told reporters Oct. 7 that claims Aloni was captured are “not true.” Aloni clearly appears 10 seconds into a video posted to the Israeli military’s official YouTube channel of top officials discussing the war on Oct. 8.