'Hamas using NATO weapons': Vladimir Putin takes advantage of Israel-Hamas war to divide neutral West audience
Russia is currently taking advantage of the Israel-Hamas conflict and upping its ante of dividing the West through its online campaign. Kremlin-backed accounts and media channels have increased their information output by multiple folds.
FollowThe misinformation campaign from all the stakeholders is at a higher trajectory in the Israel-Hamas war. The Russians have stepped up their campaign of influencing Western minds through their state-run channels and other diplomats. The Kremlin-backed media groups have massively increased their reportage on the Israel-Hamas war which has also helped in the shift of global focus from the Russia-Ukraine war.
Russia has accused NATO (West) of supplying weapons to Hamas while on the other side providing diplomatic support to Israel. The American military industry complex is often accused of stirring conflicts for the benefit of the ‘business’. History has various examples like Vietnam, Libya, Iraq, and Syria.
The Russian media channels are using history and creating doubts in the minds of the Western people. There is no doubt that Russia is closer to Hamas than Israel. Iran is a common ally of Hamas and Russia. Moscow also hosted some Hamas leaders to act as a mediator in the prevailing conflict. However, Israel showed little interest in the talks with Moscow.
According to a report from Politico, Russia-backed Facebook accounts have reported an increase in content output by 400 percent following the October 7 attack from Hamas which started the conflict. Russian Facebook accounts posted on the Israel-Hamas conflict 44,000 times in contrast to the 14,000 posts in the seven weeks prior. The Israel-Hamas conflict now dominates the posts of Russian diplomats, state-backed media, and Vladimir Putin supporters in the Western nations.
The U.S. based politics focused digital newspaper company has also reported that Russia is using the Israel-Hamas conflict to divert from its failures in Ukraine. The online campaign from Russia is also creating a divide between the Israeli and Palestinian supporters causing on-ground face-offs as well. An increase in clashes among both supporter groups has been reported worldwide.
