Israel is running a hard-hitting online campaign targeting mostly Europeans with shocking images and testimonies from the attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7. Dozens of clips of burnt bodies, bereaved families, fast-cuts of screams and sirens, rescue workers and pathologists are featured on the Israeli foreign ministry’s official social media channels and in paid advertising campaigns.

The idea is to keep fresh in the minds of the foreign public how Hamas fighters crossed from Gaza into Israel and, according to Israeli officials, killed some 1,400 people, mostly civilians, while also seizing more than 230 hostages.

The online campaign also aims to justify Israel’s relentless bombing of Gaza since then, which has killed more than 8,300 people, including over 3,000 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

As we continue to expand our ground operations in northern Gaza:

?IAF aircraft, guided by IDF troops, struck Hamas structures.
?Anti-tank missile launch posts & observation posts were struck.
?Multiple terrorists were eliminated. pic.twitter.com/XMwKPKGZ1R

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 29, 2023

Some of the videos are graphic: in one clip, a pathologist describes photos of a child’s burnt body.

Others are unashamedly emotive. Cartoon unicorns frolic among rainbows before giant capital letters pop up on the screen: “Just as you would do everything for your child, we will do everything to protect ours.”

“This is how we communicate in 2023,” Emmanuel Nahshon of the Israeli foreign ministry told AFP.

But experts say the campaign risks alienating some audiences.

There has already been some pushback, with Google limiting access to one graphic clip and a gaming firm demanding the ads be removed.

Nahshon said he wanted the message to get out to the world that Hamas’s atrocities are comparable to those of the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, who were notorious for publicising their massacres and hostage-taking.

“Hamas=ISIS“

The Israeli videos come with made-for-sharing slogans such as “BringThemHome”, “Stand with Israel, Stand with Humanity” or “Hamas=ISIS” even though many scholars reject the comparison between Hamas and Islamic State group jihadists.

Hamas-ISIS is sick.

They turn hospitals into headquarters for their terror.

We just released intelligence proving it.

Here it is: pic.twitter.com/F82OxaIPN6

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 27, 2023

Nahshon said the videos had racked up more than one billion views, a claim backed by data from US digital marketing company Semrush, which showed the campaign at that stage had clocked up 1.1 billion views in some 30 countries.

Nahshon said the government had invested “a few hundred thousand dollars” — though Semrush figures suggested the cost was $8.5 million.

The principal target of the ad campaign is France, home to the largest Jewish and Arab-Muslim communities in Europe, where $4.6 million has been spent.

Germany came next at $2.4 million followed by the United Kingdom, with $1.2 million spent, according to Semrush.

Stephanie Lamy, a specialist in wartime communication strategies, argued that Israel’s campaign was pursuing the single goal of legitimising its bombing in Gaza.

“The aim is to justify violence and even to try to secure impunity in the event of a contravention of international law,” she said.

Hamas also waging online campaign

Hamas is also waging an online information campaign to strengthen its own case, highlighting Israel’s aggression and its toll on innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

But Hamas is designated a terrorist group by the United States and European Union, meaning it is banned from the main social media platforms.

The group had been using official channels on the Telegram app to push its message, including graphic videos of Israel’s bombing of Gaza and clips of the October 7 attacks shot by some of its fighters.

These channels have been disabled in recent days on Google’s Android platform. 

Israel’s campaign, too, has suffered setbacks.

Google told AFP last week that the clip featuring the burnt body of a child had been made inaccessible to young people and that they had added an explicit content warning.

FACT: “The IDF is focused right now on one thing—victory and dismantling Hamas.”

This is how the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, fortifies the soldiers of the IDF Artillery Corps. pic.twitter.com/qGokguNue3

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 29, 2023

The maker of the “Angry Birds” game, Finnish firm Rovio, said it had asked its advertising partners to block an Israeli ad after complaints from users on social media.

That still leaves Israel way ahead in the information war in terms of viewing figures.

But experts say any achievements could come at a price.

“Subjecting people to images that are literally unbearable is a risky strategy” for Israel, said communications expert Arnaud Mercier.

“It could be counterproductive with an audience who didn’t ask to be exposed to it.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday remembered his grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 39th death anniversary saying that she was the source of his strength.

“My strength, my grandmother! I will always protect the India for which you sacrificed everything. Your memories are always with me, in my heart,” Rahul Gandhi posted on X (Formerly Twitter).

Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge paid floral tribute to Former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi on her 39th death anniversary at Shakti Sthal in the national capital.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Varun Gandhi remembered his grandmother saying that she was truly the ‘Mother of the Nation’.

“Salute to my grandmother, late Indira Gandhi ji on her death anniversary, who was a symbol of unmatched courage and struggle and the pioneer of democratic socialism,” Varun Gandhi posted on X.

“Along with the determination to make tough decisions, you also had a very simple and gentle tenderness of motherhood. You are truly the ‘Mother of the Nation'”, he added.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also paid tribute to the former Prime Minister of India.

In his tribute message, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that Indira Gandhi played an important role in building a strong and progressive India.

“A humble tribute to Indira Gandhi, India’s first woman Prime Minister and our icon on her death anniversary, who played an important role in building a strong and progressive India with her strong will, efficient leadership, unique working style and foresight,” Mr Kharge posted on X (Formerly Twitter).

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor remembered his first meeting with the former Prime Minister of India on her death anniversary.

“Remembering Smt Indira Gandhi on her martyrdom day. I first met her as a student leader in 1975 when the PM convened a discussion at her home with a dozen of us from Delhi University. Two months later I was able to interview her for a Swiss youth magazine (pic). Paying tribute to her memory in Thiruvananthapuram,” he said in a post on X.

IYC (Indian Youth Congress) President Srinivas BV and other youth workers also paid homage to Indira Gandhi at Shakti Sthal Rajghat.

Born on November 19, 1917, to India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and Kamala Nehru, Indira Gandhi served as the first and only woman Prime Minister of the country from January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 until her assassination on 31 October 1984.

Horror movies have long held a unique and enduring appeal for audiences worldwide. The intense thrill and suspense these films offer captivate viewers, drawing them into a realm of fear and excitement. Whether it’s the spine-tingling jump scares, the eerie atmospheres, or the exploration of the supernatural and psychological realms, horror movies offer a diverse range of experiences.

Some psychologists suggest that watching scary movies can be good for your well-being because they can help you feel better by releasing natural feel-good chemicals in your brain, like endorphins and dopamine. These chemicals can help reduce stress and relieve pain.

Dr Kristen Knowles, neuropsychologist at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, said: “Researchers have found that watching horror can improve pain tolerance due to endorphin production.”

“Distraction from pain is also a likely explanation, since attention and energy resources are diverted towards threat evaluation and away from other bodily functions,” she told The Herald.

Brian Bisesi, a data analyst residing in Minneapolis, shared with the news website that he believes horror movies serve as a way to relieve stress and escape from reality.

He said, “For sure, if I was stressed out or anxious, I would be more likely to watch a horror film than any other kind of film. I’m not sure why, but it does relieve the tension. I don’t want to see a movie about the anxieties of day-to-da life; I want to watch a movie about a ghost or a killer on the loose, because that seems so far from my reality.”

“The toughest challenge in my life right now is parenting; it’s really stressful, but watching horror movies really puts my problems into perspective, so I can say, ‘Okay, nobody tried to murder me today; I didn’t get possessed by a demon today’.

“It sounds silly, but I do feel more grateful for my own life after I watch a horror movie,” he said.

Dr Kristen Knowles said that some studies found that horror fans were “more psychologically resilient in the face of Covid-19”, with researchers suggesting this may be a result of their frequent exposure to the “emotional exercise” of artificial threats.

She said, “Watching horror films gives us a safe way to explore a very intense emotional experience.

“The body’s response to fear or suspense is to ramp up production of stress hormones, such as adrenaline, which mobilise your body’s energy resources. This is paired with increased heart rate and focused attention; this can all feel rather exhilarating when that tension is released at the end of the film.”

“Doing this safely can feel good simply because it is thrilling; consider skydiving as a similar activity, which is frightening but also euphoric. One theory about why some people enjoy being frightened proposes that the film format makes it possible to safely play with negative emotions.”

“In horror films, the objects of fear are discrete and more simplistic than in real life. Through this safe interaction, we can learn to cope with negative emotions and develop resilience to fear and stress.”