Palestinian Solidarity on Social Media: The Distribution of Images of Occupation on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by Advocacy Organisations

This study investigated the use of social media by international Palestinian advocacy organisations for the distribution of still and moving images that documented interactions between Israeli security forces and Palestinians. There were four research questions: RQ1: What are the visual frames present in the still and moving images of interactions between Israeli security forces and Palestinians? RQ2: How does the text caption interact with the image? RQ3: How were the affordances of social media platforms leveraged by the advocacy organisations to amplify visual content? RQ4: What do the responses by social media users show about the potential for using social media to build affective solidarity for the Palestinian cause? A cross-platform approach was taken, with data collected from the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts of eleven organisations that posted on these platforms in English for an international audience. Images, text captions and responses (likes, shares and comments) were collected, and a quantitative and qualitative analysis was carried out to understand the types of images that were posted, the ways that the organisations used the features of social media platforms to share images, and the public response to images. Images were found to depict both physical and non-physical violence against Palestinians and were posted with text captions that situated these acts within a settler-colonial context. Overall, the majority of social media users across all three platforms were supportive of the cause and expressed agreement with claims being made by the organisations, although a minority disputed them. The study builds upon research into digital image activism and shows how images recorded by those witnessing state violence can be used as part of the social media strategy of advocacy organisations to build solidarity and support for the cause in distant, international publics.