--- title: "Violent imagery and misninformation about the war in Israel and Gaza spread online" description: "Plus, job cuts at The Washington Post, a look at the proposed law that could result in a TikTok ban" date: "2023-10-12" authors: - name: "cstaubin" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/newsletter/the-briefing/violent-imagery-and-misninformation-about-the-war-in-israel-and-gaza-spread-online/" --- # Violent imagery and misninformation about the war in Israel and Gaza spread online [![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/prc-logo.png){.aligncenter width=348}](https://www.pewresearch.org/prc-logo/) --- October 12, 2023 # The Briefing **β˜€οΈ Good Morning!** *The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information. [**Sign up here!**](https://www.pewresearch.org/sign-up-for-the-briefing/)* **In today*’*s email:** - **Top story: **Violent imagery and misinformation about the war between Israel and Hamas spreads on social media - **In other news: **The Washington Post to cut 240 jobs - **Looking ahead:** A new legislative effort to allow the Department of Commerce to ban TikTok - **Chart of the week:** Journalists' views on the financial state of their industry πŸ”₯ **Top story** A new **war in Israel and Gaza** has prompted a flood of [violent imagery](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/07/world/middleeast/twitter-x-violence-israel-gaza.html) and [false information](https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/social-media-awash-misinformation-israel-gaza-war-musks-103898195) on social media, including X (formerly known as Twitter) and other platforms. Since taking over X, Elon Musk has [scaled back restrictions](https://www.reuters.com/technology/musk-owned-xs-content-moderation-shift-complicated-effort-win-back-brands-former-2023-09-07/) on content. About two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) support tech companies taking steps to restrict **false information** **online**, even if it limits freedom of information, according to [a recent survey from Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/07/20/most-americans-favor-restrictions-on-false-information-violent-content-online/). And 71% of U.S. adults say tech companies should take steps to restrict **extremely violent content** **online**. πŸ“Œ **In other news** - **The Washington Post** to cut 240 jobs through [voluntary buyouts](https://thehill.com/homenews/4248256-washington-post-slashing-240-jobs/) - **Florida news site** accused of [selling coverage to politicians](https://www.npr.org/2023/10/06/1203271345/florida-politics-peter-schorsch-southeast) - **Is the internet still fun?** The rise of [algorithms, influencers and passive consumption](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/why-the-internet-isnt-fun-anymore) on social media - **Virginia high school students** launch new [local news podcast](https://dcist.com/story/23/10/09/arlington-independent-media-youth-journalism-podcast/) - **Vietnam **linked to [spyware targeting phones](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/10/09/vietnam-predator-hack-investigation/) of U.S. lawmakers and journalists - Crowdfunding saves **Europe’s oldest student newspaper** [from closure](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/11/europe-oldest-student-newspaper-saved-from-closure-edinburgh-robert-louis-stevenson) πŸ“… **Looking ahead** U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo recently [announced her support](https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/09/what-happened-to-the-tiktok-ban-00120434) for a new bill known as the Guard Act, which would grant the department more authority to ban TikTok and other foreign-based apps. About six-in-ten Americans (59%) said in a [spring 2023 Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/07/10/majority-of-americans-say-tiktok-is-a-threat-to-national-security/) that they see **TikTok as at least a minor threat to national security**. While just 13% of adults ages 18 to 29 say TikTok is a *major *threat, this share climbs steadily across age groups, reaching 46% among Americans 65 and older. πŸ“Š **Chart of the week** This week, The Washington Post announced that it is seeking to cut over 200 positions through voluntary buyouts. In 2022, the Center asked U.S. journalists a few questions to get a sense of [the financial standing of journalists and the economics](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2022/06/14/journalists-express-high-job-satisfaction-but-are-concerned-about-the-state-of-the-news-industry/) of the organizations they work for. At that time, 22% of ** **journalists said their organization was mostly cutting back these days, while a **slightly larger share (30%) said their employer was mostly expanding**. [![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/10/PJ_2022.06.14_journalist-survey_1-04a.png?w=640){.aligncenter width=414}](https://www.pewresearch.org/newsletter/the-briefing/the-briefing-2023-10-12/pj_2022-06-14_journalist-survey_1-04a-png/) --- *πŸ‘‹ That's all for this week. * The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Jacob Liedke, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin, Luxuan Wang and Emily Tomasik. It is edited by Katerina Eva Matsa, Michael Lipka and Mark Jurkowitz, and copy edited by Rebecca Leppert. *Do you like this newsletter? 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