Five hundred days into the Israel-Hamas war, the Internet has become a more violent and less safe space, according to a survey published by the Israel Internet Association.
The survey, conducted by Geocartographia among a representative sample of the Israeli public, showed that Israelis also don’t trust how various platforms have been handling these issues.
Over 70% of Israelis were exposed to hate speech this year – derogatory terms, curses, and slurs based on ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or political stance – against either an individual or the public.
Additionally, 66% of the general public reported being exposed to incitement - calls for violent action against others based on hate.
The harm that affected most Israelis personally online was exposure to overly harsh visual content, with 44% of Israelis reporting that in the past year, they were personally exposed to disturbing images and videos, mainly related to the war.
This year, a majority of Israelis reported avoiding expressing opinions on social media for fear of violent or harmful responses, standing at 74%, compared to last year’s 59%.
Facebook was voted the most violent and polarizing platform – over half of Israelis were exposed to hate speech and incitement through the platform. Roughly a third of Israelis reported encountering hate on Instagram, with TikTok close behind.
Telegram was voted the most harmful platform
In terms of distributing videos and intimate content without permission, Telegram was by far the most harmful and offensive platform, and 37% of the Israeli public reported encountering intimate content (of a sexual nature) on Telegram, compared to 29% on Facebook, 23% on TikTok, and 21% on WhatsApp.
Additionally, Telegram also ranked first for exposure to harsh and inappropriate visual content (such as documentation of murder cases, acts of terror, or kidnapping). 42% of Israelis were exposed to harsh visual content on the platform.
It is clear that Israelis don’t trust these platforms, as 30% of the public stated they do not use the platforms' reporting mechanisms for offensive content at all, and 32% said they don’t even know how to use them.
A majority of Israelis thought the war increased the threshold of online violence, with a significant increase from 53% last year to 73%.
A concerning 75% of Israel’s Jewish population reported avoiding expressing opinions on social media about general topics – and 73% avoiding expressing opinions about the security situation since October 7 – for fear of being harmed.
Similarly, 60% of Arab respondents said they have avoided posting about security or political issues since October 7 for fear of being harmed, compared to regular posts.
Arab Israelis were shown to experience more polarizing discourse against them on social networks, with 29% reporting having experienced hate-based incitement against them, compared to 17% of Jewish Israelis.
Additionally, 25% of Arabs experienced boycotts, ostracism, or cancellation on networks.
Jewish Israelis testified to being exposed to more polarizing discourse on networks compared to Arabs; some 78% of Jews encountered hate speech against others, compared to 50% of Arabs.
"The spillover of the war and difficult security situation into digital spaces and social networks is leaving its mark on citizens' protection and freedom of expression," said Idan Ring, VP of Community and Society at the Israel Internet Association.
"The war brought both an increase in the level of incitement and offensive content distributed on networks and a transition to less secure and less familiar platforms like Telegram, usually without knowing their dangers and disadvantages," he continued. "As a result, people avoid expressing opinions, and public discourse is increasingly shrinking because people fear the network will harm them. Dealing with these negative trends that castrate freedom of speech and democracy should concern decision-makers, the education system, and platforms alike. The Internet can enable open, free, and equal public discourse - if all stakeholders ensure it's a safe and protected place for all users."