Amid a fragile ceasefire that has already been violated several times, anti-Palestinian disinformation, propaganda and racism are spreading widely online.
Anti-Palestinian disinformation and propaganda is used as a weapon “to justify the crimes that are being committed,” said Jalal Abukhatar, policy manager. 7AmlehThe Arab Center for Social Media Advancement told DW Fact Check.
At least 10 people have reportedly been killed in Israeli military actions since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 68,000 Palestinians in GazaAccording to the health authority of the enclave. United Nations Commission of InquiryAnd International Association of Genocide Scholars They have found Israel’s conduct to be tantamount to genocide.
Historical roots of anti-Palestine racism
According to the Institute for the Understanding of Anti-Palestinian Racism (IUAPR), this phenomenon is “a form of anti-Arab racism that silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, denigrates, or dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives.” While specific definitions and reporting mechanisms vary, several organizations tracking reported incidents of anti-Palestinian racism say these incidents have skyrocketed following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks.
Experts say the incidence of anti-Palestinian racism has increased throughout history. “It has its roots in colonial and Orientalist discourses,” Asma El Idrisi, a lawyer and lecturer at Bochum University of Applied Sciences, told DW.
“If you look at the literature from 100 years ago, you find exactly the same stereotypes that are reemerging against Palestinians now: Arabs or Muslims as irrational and backward.”
El Idrisi points out that after September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Arabs, and Muslims were increasingly portrayed as dangerous and sympathetic to terrorism. These stereotypes continue to shape public perception and policy.
In the legal expert’s opinion, one of the most important historical contexts to understand anti-Palestinian sentiment is the denial of the Nakba. The State of Israel was proclaimed on May 14, 1948, on the lands of what was then Mandatory Palestine, a British-administered territory. Nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe”, refers to the mass displacement and eviction of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
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. In a prominently publicized example, Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Tzipi Hotovely, said in a speech in late 2020 that the Nakba was “a very strong and very popular Arab lie.”
“Denial of the Nakba.” [serves] As a master narrative to delegitimize any demand for equal rights and independent life,” explains El Idrissi.
She emphasizes that tackling disinformation, propaganda and racism against Palestinians requires education, historical awareness and asking key questions: “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
One of the most persistent false stories in recent years The struggle of all Palestinians with HamasSimilarly, a survey of Israeli citizens conducted by the Accord Center in August 2025 found that 62% of respondents agreed with the statement “There are no innocent people in Gaza.”
El Idrisi says this narrative of equating all Palestinians with Hamas 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 Fatah, the political party controlling the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and the ongoing Israeli occupation and blockade.
“What we are dealing with here is collective punishment, which is essentially incompetent under international law,” El Idrisi said.
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
Experts say anti-Palestinian bias is fueled by racist media coverage and vice versa. 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.
Two days after the attacks of 7 October 2023, Yoav BraveryThe 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 humans fighting animals, and we act accordingly.”
Experts agree that this dehumanization reduces empathy toward others. “All this leads to what is known as an empathy gap, which in turn leads to the justification of unequal treatment,” El Idrissi said.
For example, such cycles have been promoted by targeted disinformation regarding famine in Gaza in 2025. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that there was no famine in the area and that children appeared to be malnourished only because of pre-existing diseases, and not because of his government blocking humanitarian aid and food to Gaza.
DW researchers indicate that this cycle is linked to fabricated “information” and “moral” justifications that deem war justified and necessary. The stock of evidence is also increasing Misinformation and disinformation are key components of inciting violence and war around the world. Researchers have concluded that when it comes to the war in Gaza, propaganda and dehumanization of Palestinians go hand in hand.
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 who show solidarity with Palestinians as dangerous, El Idrisi said, and Palestinians are inaccurately portrayed as violent, anti-Semitic and anti-democratic. Abukhater says: “It’s a very racist assumption to say that anyone who stands up for Palestinian rights is a ‘terrorist supporter’.”
These assumptions can also be seen in the widely documented police violence against pro-Palestinian protesters and the reporting on such incidents. “We are concerned by the persistent pattern of police violence and the apparent repression of Palestinian solidarity activism by Germany.” UN experts said in a press release on 16 October,
Over the past few years, people demonstrating in solidarity with Palestinians in Germany have repeatedly reported experiencing police violence, with some people being injured and requiring medical care. During Nakba Day celebrations in Berlin on May 15, 2025, German media widely reported that protesters seriously injured a police officer. Test Forensis, a Berlin-based NGO, later revealed the opposite: protesters were subjected to violence by police forces.
Media bias and source dependence
Another fundamental issue is that 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. a search Approximately 4,853 headlines in 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 as fact, 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.
Paid promotions and one-way advertisements are also accepted and spread by social media platforms. An investigation by DW Fact Check and members of European News Spotlight revealed in September that Israel had spent at least €42 million ($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.
Recently, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has reduced third-party fact-checking programs in several countries. A report from 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.
What can societies do to combat anti-Palestinian propaganda and racism? 7Amleh researcher Aboukhatar says people should give Palestinians space 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
Editors’ note: This article was re-edited to improve clarity and better contextualize quotes and information provided by interview participants.