On the 14th April, under extraordinary pressure from the widescale ballistic missile assault launched by the Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel’s Iron Dome defence system became overwhelmed, resulting in the deaths of countless civilians and the destruction of Israeli infrastructure. Only it didn’t.

Yet this is the reality many were led to be believed was truly unfolding; courtesy of misinformation.

In the six months since the devastating 7th October massacre by Hamas, there appear to have been two wars running simultaneously: the war on the ground and the war online.

Whilst misinformation during times of war is nothing out of the ordinary, from the anti-Tsarist fallacies spread amongst Russian troops in 1917, to the Goebbelsian eff orts to manipulate the German home front as the war began to turn, the sheer deluge of misinformation being able to be spread unchecked, through social media, is unprecedented.

During the Israel-Hamas War, one of the most prolific accounts which epitomises the problem is Jackson Hinkle; a far-right commentator based in the United States.

At twenty past midnight on the 14th of April, hours after the launch of Iranian missiles, Hinkle posted footage of what he claimed to be Israel being struck by a multitude of missiles on X, with the post being viewed by 1.4 million people and gathering over 15 thousand likes.

Responses to the post ranged from remarks such as “evil only listens to force” and “what beautiful footage”.

With Hinkle having over 2.6 million followers on X, it is only rational to be fearful of what the effects of such an account can have given the millions of people liable to be misinformed through their following of such an account.

Given that an Ofcom study found that one in four five- to seven-year-olds owned a smartphone, in light of such facts it would appear the issue of online misinformation ought to be one of priority.

It is no secret misinformation is playing a more prevalent role in our politics, be it the Labour candidate in the Rochdale by-election Azhar Ali who baselessly claimed Israel deliberately allowed the October 7th atrocity to occur; the return of George Galloway as an MP, who claimed the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged by the “Deep State”; or Andrew Bridgen MP—who gathered notoriety for equating the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to the Holocaust.

What is evident is that greater measures are required to act as a bulwark to online misinformation; yet what those measures are will be the prerogative for policymakers who face a monumental task of regulating the seemingly-unregulatable world of the internet.