In addition to the ongoing war on the Gaza strip, Israel is «waging» a social media campaign to shape public opinion about the war online. Social media expert Marouane Harmach reveals the methods used by the Hebrew state to influence Internet users in the region, including in Morocco. What do you think of the «social media campaign» waged by Israel amid war on Gaza ? The Israeli information war is not a new thing, and it is not a product of this current war. It is rather linked to the existence of Israel. Propaganda was used since day one, from the first Zionist conference with Theodor Herzl in 1897. It is an existential tool for them. In fact, Israel is fighting on multiple fronts. And information is one of these fronts that gets a lot of attention. The key word here is «Hasbara», a word in Hebrew that means «explanation» or better «interpretation». This is a strategy that consists in shaping speech depending on the audience it is targeting. To put it in other words, the discourse targeting European countries is different from that targeting an American, Latin or Arab audience. They target influential and important regional groups and pay close attention to the local public opinion, then neighboring countries, namely Arab states. Iran takes a big part of their plan because they believe that Iranians sympathize with Israel. They also target Europe, which holds a feeling of guilt towards Jews and Israel, but also India and the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America. The US is one of the most important countries that are targeted by these information campaigns, mainly through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the largest lobbying organization which has a huge influence on US foreign policy. What about Morocco ? According to my observations, Morocco is an important country to Israel because of the large Moroccan Jewish diaspora. The number of Jews of Moroccan origin in Israel is estimated between 800,000 and one million, knowing that the number of Israelis barely exceeds 9 million people. There, Morocco is very present, and on top of that there are official and unofficial relations that Israel maintains with Kingdom. حرب المعلومات التي تقودها إسرائيل: استراتيجية موجهة نحو الدول العربية (بما فيها المغرب): 1. الحملة الرقمية العربية: تستخدم وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي بشكل نشط للوصول إلى الجمهور العربي والتأثير عليه. 2. المحتوى المستهدف: تحت قيادة سابير ليفي (من أصل… https://t.co/rbwSnI9lK8 — أحمد القاري (@ahmed_badda) December 3, 2023 Israel has a constant interest in Morocco. We see several Twitter accounts whose owners speak in the Moroccan Arabic dialect and present themselves as Moroccan, while addressing various subjects. They publish messages mainly hostile to Algeria, emphasizing the regional dispute, even if the King's speeches insist on creating good relations with the Eastern neighbor. Their aim is to isolate Morocco, so that Israel becomes its main ally. Moreover, an information war is being waged by Israel, through a strategy targeting Arab states (including Morocco), through an Arab digital campaign. The Israeli Foreign Ministry actively uses social media to reach and influence the Arab public. This campaign uses the saying «Taza before Gaza», while addressing topics of public interest in Morocco, such as the conflict with the Polisario and other domestic issues. It calls people on social media to focus on those topics instead and says that the 'Moroccans of Israel' are closer to Moroccans than the Arabs of Palestine. Are there any Moroccans involved in this campaign ? Some of these accounts involved in this campaign are managed by Israel. Others belong to Moroccans who have been recruited or who have relations with Israel. And the rest have really been influenced by this propaganda. We are talking about a small group of people that became convinced of the importance of relations between Morocco and Israel and of Israel's capacity to defend the national cause. Social media gives a distorted image of reality. There are big movements on social media, such as the Moorish movement for example. Many believe that they actually exist, while they don't. Social media creates trends, but reality is different. I believe that only a minority defends these ideas which are promoted, either due to interest or influence. But the Moroccan public opinion has always been a big sympathizer of the Palestinian cause, throughout the generations. Do you think there is a counter campaign to the one launched by Israel ? Yes, of course. It may seem like someone who posts a lot has a big presence, and this is part of a general strategy, because there are ways to create fake accounts, making it seem like the other movement is a minority. But in reality, the opposite is true. The average Moroccan, who has a regular account, is often against normalization, or accepts relations with Israel in a particular situation, within the framework of the Abraham Accords. Officially, Morocco has also repeatedly emphasized the legitimate rights of the Palestinians, whether through statements from the Royal Palace or communiques from the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I believe that there is a deep trend in Morocco that is not active on social media and which is mainly against normalization and for the Palestinian cause. The dangerous thing about influence and infiltration campaigns in general, and not just regarding the position on the war in Palestine, is that these attempts can shape public opinion on issues that might not be in the interest of the targeted country, such as attempts to influence elections, control results or cancel political leaders. We remember, for example, the attempt by a Gulf state to influence the PJD government in 2015 and 2016, because this state has a strategic project against the Muslim Brotherhood and political Islam. For me, the domestic front must be strengthened and debates in the public sphere must be protected from infiltration attempts, which countries or groups can of course support, while respecting the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by law. Digital public opinion is part of the country's cybersecurity and overall security.
