{Originally posted to the FirstOne Through website}
Try this yourself (you don’t really need to as I just did it). Type in “I hate Israel” and “I hate Palestine” in the YouTube search bar and be amazed by the results.
The search results for “I hate Palestine,” yielded only ONE of the first twenty entries with something negative about Palestinians; the balance were about how Israel harms Palestinians. However, in searching for “I hate Israel,” SEVENTEEN of the top twenty results were negative about the Israeli government and people. Five videos appeared in both searches, three of which could generously be called “neutral” and two anti-Israel.
Does YouTube have algorithms that promote anti-Zionism or have the anti-Zionists effectively gamed YouTube’s algorithm to promote a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel commentary on the largest online platform?
“I Hate Israel” Top 20 results
- Muslim-Americans discuss attitudes toward Israel CBSN (419k views)
- Rebel Rabbis: Anti-Zionist Jews Against Israel Vice (2325k)
- Jews and Arabs react to Israel’s nation-state law TRT World (10k)
- Youtube series explores what Israelis and Palestinians really think about the conflict PBS NewsHour (65k)
- UK: London Orthodox Jews burn Israeli flag on Purim RT (488k)
- The Israel-Palestine conflict: a brief, simple history Vox (7381k)
- USA: Anti-Zionist Jews stage Gaza funeral at NY’s Israel embassy Ruptly (11k)
- PM Netanyahu: Dear Arab citizens of Israel–take part in our society in droves IsraelPM (53k)
- Why Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem Vox (1224k)
- Why Antisemites Love Israel AJ+ (71k)
- Do Israelis Hate Ultra-Orthodox Jews? NowThis World (326k)
- Christians in Israel face rise in hate crimes Al Jazeera (219k)
- Jerusalem Jewish group’s anti-Arab patrol BBC (26k)
- Jewish settler hate crime in Israel increasingly targets Christians Euronews (24k)
- Palestinian Christians under Israeli occupation speak out TRT (174k)
- Germans in Israel. Israelis in Germany DW Documentary (82k)
- Israelis take to streets to support Palestinian state France24 (12k)
- Muslim-Jewish wedding in Israel draws furious response AFP News (257k)
- Christians and Muslims in Jerusalem describe life under Israeli occupation TRT (144k)
- When does criticism of Israel cross into anti-Semitism? Washington Post (222k)
Only number 8, with a mere 53,000 views, showed Israel in a favorable manner.
“I Hate Palestine” Top 20 results
- Youtube series explores what Israelis and Palestinians really think about the conflict PBS News Hour (65k)
- Why Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem Vox (1224k)
- The Israel-Palestine conflict: a brief, simple history Vox (7381k)
- Conflict in Israel and Palestine: Crash Course World History 223 Crashcourse (7364k)
- The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, explained Washington Post (55k)
- Young Palestinians see no end to the Israeli Occupation CBC News (18k)
- Palestinian Christians under Israeli occupation speak out TRT World (174k)
- Israeli troops kill Palestinian on the Gaza border Euronews (7164k)
- Netanyahu Says Palestinians Should “Abandon The Fantasy That They Will Conquer Jerusalem” (HBO) Vice News (748k)
- Anti-Palestine hate posted every 71 seconds TRT World (1k)
- Trump recognises Israel but not Palestine TRT World (176k)
- Israelis take to streets to support Palestinian state France24 (12k)
- Culture of Hate – the Palestinian Incitement Kills Israel Foreign Ministry (43k)
- What Happened On The Israeli Side Of The Border During U.S. Embassy Protests (HBO) Vice News (560k)
- The Israel and Gaza Conflict From A Celebrities’ Perspective AJ+ (200k)
- Why Are Israel and Palestine Fighting? NowThisWorld (1029k)
- Obama to Israelis: Put yourselves in Palestinians’ shoes CBS News (11k)
- Author: I am Jewish and Palestinian CNN (30k)
- Elderly Palestinian man confronts armed Israeli soldiers before collapsing OnDemandNews (2275k)
- At least 25 Palestinians killed in Gaza-Israel border clashes BBC (458k)
Videos and Viewership
TRT World from Turkey is effective at promoting the anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian narrative as is the Qatari-run Al Jazeera/ AJ+. Of the top 40 slots, nine are taken by the major Muslim media companies. Only a single slot is held by Israel’s video.
Online media companies Vox and Vice have seven videos of the top 40, an impressive showing relative to the major European outlets BBC, Euronews and France24 with a total of six videos, all highly critical of Israel.
A left-wing channel NowThis had two videos, averaging 678,000 views. While the online-oriented channels Vox and Vice average 2.27 million views, the traditional media companies like the Washington Post averaged just 139,000 for its two videos and CNN had only 30,000 for its sole top 40 showing. The media from Turkey averaged 113,000 views for its six videos and from Qatar 163,000 for three videos.
Anti-Semitic Clickbate
The European news outlets featured the most anti-Israel and anti-Jewish headlines.
BBC and Euronews featured hatred and killings in their video titles including “Jerusalem Jewish group’s anti-Arab patrol”, “Jewish settler hate crime in Israel increasingly targets Christians”, “Israeli troops kill Palestinian on the Gaza border” and “Israeli troops kill Palestinian on the Gaza border.” The headlines made Jews haters and killers.
There was no equivalent for Arabs or Muslims. France24 ran with “Israelis take to streets to support Palestinian state,” making the case for an Arab state, in a search result about hating Palestine. This result was an inversion of what the viewer requested.
Euronews video entitled “Jewish settler hate crime in Israel increasingly targets Christians”
The search results on YouTube for “I hate Israel” and “I hate Palestinians” come from different sources, with the greatest number being produced in the Muslim world and the greatest viewership coming from the online world. The European countries pushed the most anti-Israel and anti-Jewish headlines, and overall, YouTube pushed a very lopsided anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian narrative.
Online, the conflict isn’t complex; it is clear that the Jews are the problem.
It is unclear if this disturbing situation stems from YouTube algorithms, viewer choice / bots to promote certain videos, or the quantity of videos being produced by media outlets with an anti-Israel bias. What is certain is the need for a change.
Related First One Through videos:
The Media Splits on Showing “Islamic Terrorism” and its Presence in Israel
The Media Finds Religion in Matters of Security. Sometimes.
Social Media’s “Fake News” and Mainstream Media’s Half-Truths
Review of Media Headlines on Palestinian Arab Terror Spree