Changing Dynamics: The Role of Social Media as an Added Dimension Within Conflicts

Abstract

Access to information plays a critical role in a society and the lack of it especially during a conflict can make individuals desperate and easy to manipulate. The recent conflict between Israel and Palestine provides a prime example to use for further analysis of how in particular social media played a critical role in coverage. With trending hashtags such as #GazaUnderAttack and #IsraelUnderFire, individuals were able to follow and access information across mediums and news sources. This diverse range of information also highlighted the disparities in coverage among news outlets and mediums. The 2014 Gaza conflict saw a heavier reliance on the use of social media sites including Twitter and Facebook especially through the use of hashtags, to bring attention and increase supporters, while also creating new obstacles as biased framing and misinformation has formed a new type of medium for conflict that has changed the dynamics of both the conflict and the dialogue, to be one that also heavily relies on the strength of one's own virtual presence.