(CNN) — Schools in Israel, the UK and the US are asking parents to delete their children’s social media apps over concerns that Hamas militants will broadcast or spread disturbing videos of hostages taken in recent days. It is recommended.
The Tel Aviv school’s parent association said it expected a video of the hostages “begging for their lives” to be published on social media. In a message to parents shared with CNN by the mother of a child attending a Tel Aviv high school, the association asked parents to delete apps such as TikTok from their children’s phones.
“We cannot allow our children to see anything like this. Also, it is difficult, even impossible, to put all this content on social media,” the parents’ association said. . “Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.”
Hamas has threatened to post hostage killings on social media if Israel targets people in the Gaza Strip without warning.
Additionally, terrorists are exploiting social media algorithms to specifically target such videos to supporters of Jewish and Israeli influencers to wage psychological warfare on Israelis, Jews and their supporters around the world. There are also concerns that they may try to set up a trick.
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During Saturday’s onslaught, armed Hamas militants poured into Israel across the heavily fortified border and took as many as 150 hostages, including Israeli military officers, back to Gaza. The Israeli Defense Forces said the surprise attack killed at least 1,200 people and injured thousands more.
At least 1,055 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave on Saturday, including hundreds of children, women and entire families, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. An additional 5,184 people were announced as injured as of Wednesday.
As the war rages on, some Jewish schools in the United States are also asking parents not to share any related videos or photos that may surface, and to prevent their children or themselves from viewing them. ing. Schools are also advising local residents to delete social media apps during this period.
“We are joining other Jewish day care centers in warning parents to disable social media apps such as Instagram, X, and TikTok on their children’s phones,” one New Jersey school principal wrote in an email. “There is,” he said. “Graphic and often misleading information flows freely, increasing fear among students. …Parents should discuss the dangers of these platforms and ensure that even if they remove unfiltered apps from their phones, We should also ask our children what they see every day.”
Delete social media apps
Another school in the UK announced that it asked students to delete their social media apps during a safety assembly.
How TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly known as Twitter) are dealing with the rise in videos posted online, and how schools are asking parents to remove these apps He did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
But× Said The company’s platform has seen an increase in daily active users in conflict zones, and its escalation team has “addressed tens of thousands of posts for sharing graphic media, violent speech, and acts of hate.” It did not respond to requests for further comment or a definition of “action.”
“We also continue to actively monitor anti-Semitic speech as part of all our efforts,” the X safety team said. “Additionally, we took steps to remove hundreds of accounts attempting to manipulate trending topics.”
The company added that it remains “focused” on enforcing the site’s rules and reminded users that they can limit the sensitive media they may encounter by accessing the “Content displayed” option in settings. I let it happen.
There is still incorrect information
Yet misinformation continues to flourish on social media platforms, including X.
A post featuring the hashtag #PalestineUnder Attack was viewed more than 500,000 times and claimed to show a plane being shot down. However, as noted in a “community note” later added to the post, the clip was from the video game Arma 3.
Another video purportedly showing Israeli generals after being captured by Hamas fighters had been viewed more than 1.7 million times by Monday. But the video instead shows the detention of separatists in Azerbaijan.
On Tuesday, the European Union warned Elon Musk of “penalties” for disinformation he spread about X during the Israel-Hamas war.
The EU also notified Meta CEO Zuckerberg on Wednesday of the proliferation of disinformation on the company’s platforms, including Facebook, and asked the company how to address the issue. They asked for a response within 24 hours as to whether they intended to take action.
In an Instagram Story on Tuesday, Zuckerberg called the attack “pure evil” and said he “remains focused on the safety of our employees and their families in Israel and the region.”