6 | APRIL 28 • 2022

opinion
Social Media in Times of War
I

t is pretty impossible not
to be aware of what’s going
on in the world these days.
Even if you live under a rock,
As long as your device is con-
nected to wifi,
you will be aware
of everything
that’s going
on. You will be
aware, but will
you know what’s
happening? You
can share any
post, but are you able to check
its sources? There is a vast dif-
ference between knowing and
being aware.
Facebook, Instagram,
Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok.
Scrolling through our feeds, we
see endless videos, opinions and
things that people are putting
out there, hashtag #proX or
#proY, people writing about

something controversial that
they heard, and the world will
immediately jump to conclu-
sions. Sometimes, those con-
clusions can even be dangerous.
Yet, we don’t stop to think about
what’s even out there anymore.
Opinions? Facts? These days,

does it even matter?
Social media is not just a
black hole of fake news and
flammable opinions. Some
people use it for good, taking
advantage of the power of the
crowd to promote facts, donate
money, show support and rec-

ognition, and above it all, share
real stories and experiences
from an honest, intimate point
of view: Live videos from the
loaded trains in Ukraine, people
taking videos of themselves
trying to escape from the battles
or even TikToks from refugee
camps. Moments that the world
would probably not be able
to see without the help of this
unique platform.
The problem is that most
of the content that critically
matters is gone in the face of
the infinity of fake news and
non-accurate information,
becoming another post we just
scrolled up.
There are so many ways to
share information today. And
with the right filter and the
right font, letters, wording and
colors, everything is possible to
believe. But, unfortunately, with

Ron Harel

Rockets fall in Israel in May 2021.

PURELY COMMENTARY

continued on page 10

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