Hillary Clinton believes misinformation on social media has formed younger folks’s views on Israel and Palestine in a harmful means.
Whereas talking at a summit hosted by the right-wing Israeli paper, Israel Hayom, in New York Metropolis on Tuesday, the previous secretary of state mentioned she was involved about the truth that “smart, well-educated young people” at the moment are overwhelmingly getting their information on platforms like TikTok, calling the development a “serious problem” for democracy.
“A lot of the challenge is with younger people. More than 50% of young people in America get their news from social media. So just pause on that for a second,” she instructed the viewers.
Zeroing in on many social platforms issues with misinformation and fact-checking, she mentioned, “They are seeing short-form videos, some of them totally made up, some of them not at all representing what they claim to be showing, and that’s where they get their information.”
Alex Wong through Getty Photos
The politician mentioned that she was significantly involved when it got here to how individuals are getting information in regards to the battle between Israel and Palestine.
“That is where they were learning about what happened on Oct. 7, what happened in the days, weeks and months to follow,” she mentioned of Hamas’ 2023 shock assaults on Israel. “It’s a serious problem for democracy, whether it’s Israel or the United States, and it’s a serious problem for our young people.”
Clinton went on to say it was “shocking” to find out how little her Columbia College college students knew in regards to the “history” behind the occupation.
As she defined, “When you would try to talk to them to engage in some kind of reasonable discussion, it was very difficult because they did not know history. They had very little context. And what they were being told on social media was not just one-sided, it was pure propaganda.”
The previous Democratic presidential candidate added how criticism of Israel was not simply coming from what she known as “the usual suspects” and claimed that “a lot of young Jewish Americans” don’t “understand” the historic context of the battle.
Whereas it’s arduous to parse out the impression of misinformation on public sentiment, People’ opinion on Israel has proven a marked shift because the nation escalated its assaults on Gaza in retaliation for the Oct. 7 assaults.
In a research launched by the Pew Analysis Institute in March, 53% of respondents reported an unfavorable opinion of Israel, up 11% from 2022 polling.
