More people are moving away from consuming stories from traditional news sources about the conflict – turning instead turning to social media accounts of independent and citizen journalists.
As Jade-Lily Holland, a university student, scrolls through Instagram, her feed is a cocktail of content – some posts are from friends and others are online memes.
She also gets her news in during her morning scroll, by following legacy media companies.
But recently, while consuming news about the Israel Palestine war, she’s drifted from these accounts and finds herself paying closer attention to the posts of independent journalists, especially those on the ground in Gaza.
While media giants like the New York Times still hold on to more than 18 million social media followers, independent Palestinian accounts have seen a massive increase in their following.
Holland says that where she gets her news has changed since the current round of fighting began.
“I’ve definitely become more aware of listening to the voices of independent Palestinian journalists,” she says.
“Before the war on Gaza most of my news came from bigger media platforms.”
She follows Bisan Owda, an independent Palestinian journalist and activist who has been documenting her life under Israeli airstrikes on Instagram whose account has reached 4.5 million followers, and who recently won a Peabody award for her efforts in documenting the war.
Similarly, Motaz Azaiza, a photographer based in Gaza, has reached 18 million followers on Instagram – a follower count similar to that of The New York Times.
In the wake of the war, social media has seen a growth of citizen journalism with civilians trapped in Gaza taking to Instagram or TikTok to tell their stories.
Holland says this content has also made its way into her feed.
“I also get quite a few [citizen journalists] come up on my suggested feed which I get a lot of news content from,” she says.
These independent accounts are gaining traction as the war continues and the world looks to their phones for updates.
But what is the difference between legacy news articles versus citizen or independent journalism?
With the Israel-Palestinian war, Holland finds that legacy media is better at giving readers an general overview of an event or story, rather than just presenting raw facts.
“Traditional news sites offer a broader understanding of the conflict, and focus on sitting it within a political context,” she says.
Despite this, Holland finds it important to consume the content posted by independent Palestinian journalists, as it helps her to form her own idea and opinion of what is happening.
“I think because it is such a divisive issue, most of the traditional news media has been influenced by the Australian politics of the issue, so it’s good to listen to the firsthand experiences of people within Gaza,” she says.
A 2023 study says that journalists play a vital role in “verifying and vetting information” when it comes to reporting on international conflicts.
It also highlights the importance of independent and citizen journalists in war zones, especially where authorities actively prevent the presence of foreign journalists.
Holland says she feels like legacy media can present the news through a political lens, so she finds following independent social media accounts can help her to recognise the individual experiences of people on the ground in Gaza.
“It is very easy to get distracted by the politics of the conflict and the international tensions surrounding it,” she says.
“Following Palestinian journalists grounds the broader context, and humanises the issue.”
A 2010 research paper describes social media as an “influential as a communication and news-breaking tool” – while in the past, traditional media involved a one-way interaction with its readers, social media and online news is based on two-way communication where users can comment and add original content themselves.
This two-way communication has been instrumental in not only disseminating updates about the Israel Palestine war, but also in highlighting activism efforts.
Young Australian social media users believe such activism is important on social media.
“While social media activism is mostly passive efforts to spread awareness, lots of fundraisers have been mobilised through online platforms which directly impact people situated within the conflict,” Holland says.
For example, on TikTok campaigns like Operation Olive Branch and Project Pass the Hat raise funds with the goal of supporting Palestinian families in Gaza.
The hashtag ‘#passthehat’ has 7,658 posts and ‘#operationolivebranch’ has over 33.6 thousand posts, with campaigns seeing the recruitment of influencers with high social media followings.
Holland says that while she consumes media from both legacy media companies and independent journalists, she doesn’t outrightly prefer one over the other and says that they are both valuable to informing the public.
“I think both have their importance and a balance between the two forms will lead to the highest level of understanding about the issue,” she says.
As the war continues, so does its devastating impact on press freedom, as seen through Qatari run Al Jazeera being banned in Israel – the news site was seen as instrumental in providing updates on the war, as it was one of the only international outlets broadcasting from the Gaza Strip.
Independent journalism in Palestine and Israel is now more vital than ever before.
