Within just 24 hours, a single social media post has ignited massive attention, gaining over 34 million shares on Instagram. The post sheds light on the escalating conflict between Israel and Gaza, reigniting online advocacy efforts for the Palestinian cause.
This surge in support follows a devastating Israeli airstrike, resulting in the loss of at least 45 civilian lives in Rafah, a southern region of Gaza known for its refugee tent camps. The image accompanying the post creatively spells out “All Eyes on Rafah” using tents, symbolizing the urgency for global attention and intervention.
Experts suggest that unlike many other graphic images and videos emerging from Gaza, the latest image is likely to have been created with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI).
Felix M Simon, a communication researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute, said he is “confident” that the said image “was generated with the help of AI,” The Washington Post reported.
According to the report, the image in question differs significantly from the actual landscape near Rafah’s encampments. In reality, there are no neatly arranged rows of tents, nor is there a snow-capped mountain in the vicinity.
The tents typically occupy fields and buildings, while the southernmost city of Gaza, housing approximately 1.5 million displaced individuals seeking refuge from Israeli bombings, is characterized by palm trees and occasional sandy hills.
The image might have been artificially generated to circumvent Meta’s content moderation policies, thereby avoiding potential removal for depicting violence or destruction. The Meta-owned company has acknowledged a user named ‘shahv4012’ as the initial sharer of the image within a Stories template.
The slogan shown in the image reportedly stems from a remark by Rick Peeperkorn, director of the World Health Organization’s Office of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. He made this statement in February earlier this year, following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s order for an evacuation plan for Rafah in anticipation of strikes on what he described as the last Hamas strongholds.
To date, the Gaza Health Ministry reports that Israel’s offensive in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of 36,000 Palestinians.