June 22, 2007
Gaza militants launch 'web-war'
The power struggle between Palestinian rivals Fatah and Hamas has spilled over to the internet with a propaganda war using a popular video sharing website, reports the BBC [via Editors Weblog].
"After both groups moved to disrupt each other's television and radio broadcasts, the internet - and YouTube in particular - has become an important medium for disseminating propaganda.
The killing of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades commander Samih al-Madhun appears to have been the catalyst for the release of a flurry of videos by both sides.
One video graphically shows the pro-Fatah militant being dragged along and shot by masked gunmen, apparently taken from Hamas's own television station, al-Aqsa TV.
The footage is available at the time of writing, although YouTube's guidelines on graphic portrayals of violence may mean it gets taken down.
Fatah supporters responded with a number of videos commemorating "the hero martyr" Mr Madhun, to stirring music showing him posing with various weapons.
... A recurrent theme in videos posted by both Hamas and Fatah is to portray their own people as patriotic and pious, and the other side as treacherous and immoral."
As well as privately taken footage, both sides have recut news footage to make propaganda points.
Related:
-- Hamas TV Uses Mickey Mouse to Push Islamic Supremacy
-- Al-Qaida boosts online video offensive
-- SE Asia hill tribes fight back with new weapon - YouTube
-- Hamas TV Uses Mickey Mouse to Push Islamic Supremacy
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