No-one could have missed the events currently taking place in Israel and Palestine as the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) invade the Gaza Strip in order to go after Hamas. But should the whole sorry mess be broadcast on YouTube?
Happy War (Christmas Is Over)
It seemed as soon as Christmas was over, Israeli forces launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip in an effort to knock out Hamas, the political party which holds majority rule on the council of the Palestinian National Authority.
Obviously, that’s not the full story. Depending on which side you believe, Hamas is more a terrorist organization intent on destroying Israel than any sort of legitimate political party. Regardless of the truth, war is never welcome.
Air Strike Videos On YouTube
Our news bulletins are already full up with reports from the region, with intrepid reporters letting us know the latest goings-on from the area. But the war has now also found its way to YouTube.
The IDF set up a YouTube channel as soon as the air strikes began, posting videos of attacks on buildings, interviews with soldiers, and footage of members of Hamas allegedly loading rockets on to trucks.
Inappropriate Content?
Some of these videos were then removed by YouTube for containing “inappropriate content” but were later reinstated on the site. YouTube didn’t comment on the offending videos directly but did state that occasionally mistakes were made in removing content flagged by users.
The IDF, meanwhile, has stated it is using the video-sharing site, as well as micro-blogging service Twitter, to “help us bring our message to the world.”
Correct Censorship?
That may well be so but is it right to bring warmongering and killing to a video sharing site? Certainly if a terrorist organization were uploading videos to YouTube which showed the detestation caused by their attacks there would be uproar.
Israel is now thought to be setting up an independent blog where it can host videos of attacks being launched and propaganda being spouted without fear of censorship.
Conclusions
Whether Israel is justified in this fight to bring its side of the story to the Internet is justified or not will depend on your point of view of the whole sorry conflict. But it’s key to remember that hundreds of Palestinians have already died in this latest round of fighting. And Israeli civilians have been turned into casualties by the constant rocket attacks.
I’m really not sure if YouTube is the right place for this kind of thing but then, with the footage available on 24 hour rolling news channels around the world, I suppose Web video is just mimicking television.
Via CNET
Related Ad
Buy ‘The Palestine-Israel Conflict: An Introduction’ on Amazon
