Certain influencers who post misleading, partisan, and graphic information have been leading coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas on X (formerly Twitter). In October, their content was the most viewed and shared on the English-language platform about the conflict.
These influencers with no experience in the region have amassed millions of followers who deny Hamas atrocities and use archival, manipulated, and AI-generated images to illustrate current events.
Experts who study misinformation say these accounts appear to be monetizing events by posting inflammatory and often inaccurate content, attracting revenue with paying subscribers through X’s revenue-sharing scheme.
From climate activism to an anti-Israel crusade
Leading the pack of these newly famous influencers is Jackson Hinkle, a 24-year-old who describes himself as a “MAGA communist.” [Make America Great Again]” and vocal supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“MAGA” is a movement aligned with former US President Donald Trump.
In the month since the escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Hinkle’s account quadrupled, reaching two million followers, and obtained the highest number of visits, reposts, likes and responses among all the accounts that publish on X about the conflict.
This exponential growth is due to the type and number of posts he has been publishing: a constant stream of false or misleading claims and graphic videos showing injured children and destroyed homes.
While disturbing and disturbing, These posts tend to attract large audiences and be shared widely.
An analysis by Logically, a technology company that uses artificial intelligence to monitor misinformation, showed that Hinkle’s posts have been shared more than 20 million times on X since October 7.
He also wrote 75% of the most shared posts about the war between Israel and Hamas on X: 15 of 20.
For such an influential voice, Hinkle is hardly an expert in the field: Before the Hamas attack, he rarely tweeted about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and was previously better known for his environmental and pro-Russian views.
As a young man he was an ecological activist; mentioned in the list of Teen Vogue of “young environmentalists working to save the earth.”
He rose to online prominence by positioning himself as a “MAGA communist,” repeatedly promoting Kremlin propaganda falsehoods, such as false claims that Ukraine is ruled by Nazis and that its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has a drug addiction.
He said genetics is a false science, professed love for Stalin and supported the Assad regime in Syria.
Then, on October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, Hinkle made an abrupt turn.
He began posting dozens of anti-Israel messages every day, falsely equating Israel with the so-called Islamic State and al Qaeda, banned as terrorist organizations by the United Kingdom government.
He shared videos, photographs and claims that the BBC reviewed and found misleading or inaccurate.
One of his tweets used old footage of Israeli attacks on Gaza to illustrate current events in Syria. Another cited an alleged investigation of Haaretza liberal Israeli newspaper, which, according to it, confirmed that 900 people (instead of more than 1,200, according to the latest official count) were killed in the Hamas attacks, and that half of them were Israeli soldiers.
Haaretzhowever, never published such a story, and the newspaper issued a statement saying that Hinkle’s post contained “blatant lies” and had “absolutely no basis in the reporting of Haaretz“.
The publication is still available and tIt has more than five million visits.
Hinkle went so far as to deny the Hamas atrocities of October 7, incorrectly claiming that civilians attending the Supernova Festival were not killed by Hamas militants but in “crossfire” with Israeli police who blocked the road.
“Hamas is not guilty of the atrocities of October 7,” says Hinkle’s tweet, still available on the platform.
That’s false: the BBC verified footage showing Hamas gunmen killing unarmed festival-goers.
In a BBC interview, Hinkle He maintained that he was “telling the truth.” about the conflict. She said that while she rarely mentioned it on Twitter before October 7, she did talk about it on other platforms.
Hinkle said he was “not looking to profit from anything” and that it is “better to make a living by telling the truth than by lying about these critical issues.”
When asked about his lack of experience, he stated that “experts and the mainstream media really aren’t experts.”
“The new elites”
Jackson Hinkle is not the only influencer using these tactics.
Mario Nawfal is a Dubai-based cryptocurrency entrepreneur whose previous endeavors included the wellness and kitchen appliance industries.
Has been endorsed on several occasions by Elon Musk, including his analyzes of Russian affairs, despite having no known experience on the subject.
Nawfal doesn’t seem to favor one side of the conflict, but his constant updates to his 1.1 million followers – which often begin with “BREAKING” or “NEW” or “RECENT NEWS” – are unsourced and sometimes They repeat misleading information.
Nawfal presented a video of rocket launches in Syria and He claimed that it showed the events in Gaza.
This post was eventually deleted, but another, falsely claiming that Hamas kidnapped an Israeli general, is still up and has been viewed more than 18 million times.
Nawfal did not respond to a BBC request for comment.
Two right-wing American influencers previously unrelated to the conflict, Collin Rugg and Dom Lucre (real name Dominick McGee), tThey also gained tens of thousands of followers in October by posting about Israel-Hamas.
More than 700,000 and 600,000 people respectively follow them now.
Rugg repeated false reports about Hezbollah fighters crossing into Israel on paragliders. Dom Lucre published old videos from Gaza to illustrate events in Syria and presented a Catholic meeting in Poland as a pro-Israel demonstration.
McGee, who goes by the name Dom Lucre, told the BBC he stopped sharing information about the conflict and rejected accusations that he was monetizing the suffering.
Rugg did not respond to a BBC request for comment.
Another group that used the conflict to increase its number of followers is that of anonymous accounts posting quick updates, unverified and emotional.
Two of these accounts were recommended by Elon Musk as sources for learning about war: OSINTdefender and WarMonitor. They both gained hundreds of thousands of followers since October 7.
Like influencers, both accounts have a history of posting false and unverified claims, such as images of an explosion near the Pentagon that were shown to have been generated by AI.
It was also learned that one of them made anti-Semitic comments in the past. Musk deleted the post promoting them.
Together, influencers and anonymous accounts became “the most dominant English-language news sources on X” about the war between Israel and Hamas, according to a report from the University of Washington, calling them the “new elites” of the platform.
Profit from war
Shayan Sardarizadeh, from BBC Verifyhas been monitoring and debunking viral falsehoods and misleading posts about the war between Israel and Hamas spread on X.
“Social media algorithms reward shocking or scandalous content posted regularly and consistently. “A war provides fertile ground for that type of content.”it states.
“Under the leadership of Elon Musk, the X Premium feature incentivizes this by boosting an feeds from other users and also by offering monthly payments based on participation and advertising revenue.”
X Premium and Premium Plus are paid subscriptions implemented by Musk. User responses Those who pay are “boosted” or shown first. Users can also offer paid subscriptions on their X accounts.
They are also eligible to receive payments under X’s advertising revenue sharing scheme.
Paid subscription fees on The number of paying subscribers is not disclosed.
In July, WarMonitor, an account that posted anti-Semitic comments, boasted of having received $16,191 as part of X’s revenue sharing plan for content creators.
“The income offered to X Premium subscribers and the level of follower growth seen since October 7 provide two very tangible reasons to continue engaging in these practices,” says Kyle Walter, head of research at Logically.
X did not respond to a BBC request for comment.
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