Amidst the fragile ceasefire, which has already been violated several times, anti-Palestinian disinformation, propaganda and racism are spreading widely online. DW Fact Check investigates why these stories are going viral and what makes them so dangerous.
Anti-Palestinian disinformation and propaganda is used as a weapon, says Jalal Abukhatar, policy manager at the Palestinian Authority, “to justify the crimes that are being committed.” 7Amlehthe Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media said in an interview with DW. Since the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, at least 100 people have reportedly been killed in Israeli military actions 68,000 Palestinians According to Palestinian health officials. UN expertsAnd International Association of Genocide Scholars They have found Israel’s conduct to be tantamount to genocide.
Historical roots of anti-Palestine racism
While experts say anti-Palestinian campaigns have intensified after October 7, 2023, they have increased throughout history. “It has its roots in colonial and Orientalist discourses,” Asma El Idrisi, a lawyer and lecturer at the Bochum University of Applied Sciences, tells DW in an interview. She adds: “If you look at the literature from 100 years ago, you’ll find exactly the same stereotypes that are resurfacing now against Palestinians: Arabs or Muslims as irrational and backward.” After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Arabs and Muslims were increasingly portrayed as dangerous and sympathetic to terrorism. These stereotypes continue to shape public perception and policy.
According to Asma Al Idrisi, one of the most important historical contexts for understanding anti-Palestinian sentiment is the denial of the Nakba.
Nakba, “catastrophe” in Arabic, refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed on Palestinian lands. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics More than 800,000 Palestinians were driven from their homeland, and at least 15,000 died in the Nakba. Calm, Nakba is often denied Or it was not talked about.
El Idrisi explains, “This is clearly a denial of the Nakba as the core narrative of delegitimizing any demand for equal rights and free life.”
She emphasizes that education and historical awareness are needed to combat disinformation, propaganda and racism against Palestinians: “What is the history of Palestine? What is the history of Germany? And what legal and moral obligations does German history impose on this conflict?”
False equivalence: Palestinians are not Hamas
Currently, one of the most persistent false stories is the unification of all Palestinians. with hamasThis narrative is misused to justify collective punishment, which violates international law.
While Hamas is a political party with a military wing and is classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union, Germany and other countries, the party was elected in the last regional election in 2006, although without a majority vote. Since thenNo regional elections have been held due to the unresolved political division between Hamas and the political party Fatah, and the ongoing occupation and blockade by Israel.
El Idrisi insists: “What we are dealing with here is collective punishment, which is essentially unassailable under international law.”
One result, experts say, is that civilian deaths in Gaza are often downplayed and therefore underreported. Aboukhatar gives an example: when a car or a tent is bombed or targeted in Gaza, “someone will say that maybe there was someone from Hamas in that vehicle, where five children have been killed. And that would be enough for them to say: Let’s move on to the next story.”
Disinformation and racism: a dangerous alliance
This biased attitude towards Palestinians has been further fueled by racist media coverage. Palestinian researcher Hanan Sahmoud sheds light How European media have often “portrayed Palestinians as savages.” On the contrary, the public The tendency to adopt these dehumanizing attitudes in a self-reinforcing cycle. Social media users regularly describe Palestinians as rats, and there are examples of Israeli officials doing the same.
On October 9, 2023, Yoav Galant, The then Israeli Defense Minister said, “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly.” Experts agree that this dehumanization reduces empathy. El Idrisi says: “All this leads to what is known as an empathy gap, which in turn leads to the justification of unequal treatment.”
This dehumanization was further fueled by targeted disinformation regarding famine in Gaza in 2025. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that there was no famine, and that children appeared to be malnourished only because of pre-existing diseases, and not because of Israel blocking humanitarian aid and food into Gaza.
The fabricated “information” and “moral” justifications that justify and justify war are not new – The body of evidence is growing Misinformation and disinformation are key components of inciting violence and war around the world. When it comes to the war in Gaza, propaganda and dehumanization of Palestinians go hand in hand. This is a typical racist incident increasesThe belief that races exist and that some races are intrinsically superior to others.
UN condemns police violence at pro-Palestine protests in Germany
This dynamic can also be seen in Germany. Many media outlets portray Palestinians and people showing solidarity with Palestinians as dangerous, and all Palestinians are unfairly portrayed as violent, anti-Semitic, and anti-democratic, says El Idrissi. “It’s a very racist notion to say that anyone who stands up for Palestinian rights is a ‘terrorist sympathizer,'” says Aboukhater.
These assumptions can also be seen in police violence against pro-Palestinian protesters and reporting on such incidents. “We are concerned by the persistent pattern of police violence and the apparent repression of Palestine solidarity activism by Germany,” UN experts said in a press release on 16 October.
Over the past year, Palestinian solidarity protesters in Germany have reportedly been victims of police violence, leaving some injured and requiring medical care. On 15 May, during Nakba Day commemorations, German media widely reported that a police officer was seriously injured by protesters. Test The opposite was later revealed: protesters were victims of police violence.
Media bias and source dependence
Generally, there is a problem in media coverage of Israel and the Palestinians: Too often, the media rely primarily on statements from the Israeli military and government, treating them as fact without proper cross-referencing, fact-checking, citation, or critical analysis. an analysis Approximately 4,853 headlines by German media between October 7, 2023 and January 19, 2025 show that many major German media outlets rely primarily or exclusively on official Israeli sources for their reporting on the Middle East.
For example, in August Israel killed 28-year-old journalist Anas al-Sharif in Gaza. Israeli army claimed Without evidence that al-Sharif led a Hamas cell; Many German media, including tabloids PictureClaim repeated despite lack of evidence.
Role of social media in publicity
Social media platforms also play an important role in promoting anti-Palestinian content. Disinformation stirs emotions, and algorithms often promote right-wing and extremist content. “We know that there is right-wing extremist material or extremist material pushed by algorithm” says El Idrisi.
Furthermore, paid promotions and one-way advertisements are accepted and spread by social media platforms. An investigation by DW Fact Check and members of European News Spotlight revealed in September that the State of Israel had spent at least €42 million (about $49 million) on anti-Palestinian propaganda ads. On August 22, the same day that the United Nations initiative, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), announced that large parts of the Gaza Strip were experiencing “man-made famine” and that “hunger exists and is spreading rapidly,” the Israeli government advertising agency launched a new campaign denying the famine. (Read more about the investigation here.)
Recently, Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) has reduced third-party fact-checking programs in several countries. investigation by 7amleh Show that Meta’s advertising system sanctioned and profited from violent and inflammatory content by accepting it as paid advertising in 2023 and 2025. recent media reports It was also revealed that Israel has invested at least $6 million to train ChatGPT on its behalf.
So, what can societies do to combat anti-Palestinian propaganda and racism? Researcher Abukhatar says it is important for people to give space to Palestinians to tell their stories: “Palestinians are often talked about, and Palestinians do not speak for themselves” in many media outlets. In addition to improving representation, the media must examine individual and structural biases. “There should be more discussion on anti-Palestinian racism, recognizing it as a concept, looking at the semantics and how it is used to dehumanize, to generally accuse all Palestinians.”
Edited by: Rachel Begg, Kyra Levin