The repercussions of employing social media as a tool for digital weaponization in the Sheikh Jarrah conflict

For more than half a century, 7 decades to be precise, The Palestinian people has experienced the weight of Israeli occupation, an endless oppression that has defined their existence with no mercy. In 2021, during the holy month of Ramadhan the internet blew up with Free Palestine campaign specifically for Sheikh Jarrah located at the East Jerusalem. This research explored on the role of digital media used as a weapon against political activism content by presenting a case study of a digital advocacy campaign launched by Palestinian activists against the Israeli occupation in Sheikh Jarrah. Through it, the Palestinian activists have seized control of social media and the narrative of actual battlefield occurrences. An analysis of videos that were uploaded and shared on TikTok May 2021 manage to influence millions of people around the world to participate in the solidarity of Sheikh Jarrah. Social media political campaigns are analogous to psychological operations, the spirit of the people that do not require major bombing runs or actual weapon. It’s a digital weapon using social media as a kind of modern warfare. The primary aim of this research is to investigate the success and impact of political content that employs narrative psywar tactics during the Sheikh Jarrah crisis.