Opinion
Instagram, you've let me down
'Unfortunately, we’ve created an environment where anyone can create an image with some words on, say they’re ‘busting myths and providing facts’, and people will gobble them up'
May 13, 2021 17:44
2 min read
'Unfortunately, we’ve created an environment where anyone can create an image with some words on, say they’re ‘busting myths and providing facts’, and people will gobble them up'
May 13, 2021 17:44Just two weeks ago, I submitted an article to the JC about why Instagram was the best place on the internet to be Jewish. Since Wiley’s tirade last year, I had noticed more people sharing infographics and education resources about antisemitism, and people seemed to be listening. I felt more hopeful than ever about being Jewish (and half Israeli) in this country.
We were waiting for a good time to publish that article, but unfortunately it hasn’t aged well.
Ever since tensions began to swell again in Israel last week, I have witnessed the most shocking spread of misinformation and antisemitism (masked as social justice), on the picture-sharing app I have always loved. Those educational infographics, that had been so useful during the BLM protests, and for teaching about antisemitism have now been co-opted by people with biased agendas.
One particularly harmful post, which put the word “Israel” in quotations, denied the Jewish connection to the land, and contained more historical inaccuracies than Bridgerton, was shared by countless celebrities including supermodel Bella Hadid, whose post has been liked almost 2 million times. For context,the number of British Jews is around 300,000. Seeing friends share that post made me feel physically sick.
Another damaging post stated that the conflict is all based on Israel’s desire for oil (what oil? They didn’t specify – but I wonder if they meant olive oil) and that billionaires like the Rothschilds are pulling the strings. Yes, though peddling pretty blatant conspiracy theories about 'greedy' Jews, this post received more than 707,000 likes.
Surely it shouldn’t be so easy for misinformation and hatred to spread like wildfire? Unfortunately, we’ve created an environment where anyone can create an image with some words on, say they’re ‘busting myths and providing facts’, and people will gobble them up. And Instagram lets these posts circulate unchecked.
At best, we’re living in a culture where people are not discerning enough to think for themselves, and establish the differences between facts and opinions; where people are so worried about looking ‘good’ that they’ll share anything to reassure themselves they’re on the right side of history. At worst, we’re living in a world where huge swathes of people are willing to grab any excuse to level hatred towards Israel – and, from there, global Jewry.
While I’ve been worrying about my family in Israel who haven’t slept as they listened to sirens, wondering what would happen if the Iron Dome didn’t exist, I’ve scrolled through comments saying "Hitler was right". Enduring contemporary trauma and reliving ancestral trauma simultaneously is frankly unbearable.
I am pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian; the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Every death in this conflict is a tragedy. There is so much pain, trauma and suffering, and I believe the social media activism we are seeing today is only making things worse. Words and images carry an extraordinary amount of weight. I hope Instagram, and its users, realise this before it’s too late.
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