Gazawood is a social media site that claims to fact-check reports from Gaza. Yet, the majority of what it shares is misleading or false. Gazawood frequently accuses Palestinians of producing fake video and still images that present real suffering. Relatively few of its claims, perhaps only a couple or a few, are actually true, while the rest misrepresent something using out of context or valid, but lightly edited, video evidence which the Gazawood designer has purposefully twisted into staged, performed, or fake footage.
Gazawood sometimes even uses clips from TV shows or from unrelated events, and attempts to falsely present it as evidence that Palestinians are faking the circumstances. This type of media manipulation has existed for years, in an effort to build doubt and make the audience skeptical of the real consequences of what is transpiring in Gaza. The goal is not to seek truth, rather doubt and to build skepticism around a Palestinian narrative.
Multiple independent fact checkers have demonstrated, Gazawood's posts are misleading. Gazawood ignores conclusions made by International organizations warning of hunger, disease and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Gazawood creates confusion; therefore, it is used to create uncertainty and distract from the collective public acknowledgment (and acceptance) of living through such breathtaking suffering while the Palestinians, simultaneously, are distracted (and, in disbelief that such suffering occurs, remain blissfully content).
This, as one example, represents a larger trend of misdirection used to distract from real issues and diminish the profundity of the crisis, consistent with political efforts by those who would want to avoid accountability and responsibility. Understanding this is a giving perspective of how information can be misappropriated and misused to harm an already suffering people.