Instagram briefly removes viral Israeli response to ‘All eyes on Rafah’ campaign
Meta says ‘technical issue’ led to removal of AI-generated ‘Where were your eyes on October 7’ image showing Hamas gunman towering over red-headed effigy of hostage Kfir Bibas
An AI-generated image created to counter an anti-Israel social media campaign on Israel’s offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah was removed from Instagram for several hours on Wednesday after it went viral.
There was no initial explanation from Instagram after the image was barred, but parent company Meta later said in a statement that it was “working to understand a technical issue that led to some instances of the image being mistakenly removed.”
“This image does not violate our policies,” said the statement of the pro-Israel image. By late Wednesday, the image reappeared.
The image was created after a pro-Palestinian AI-generated image reading “All eyes on Rafah” had been shared some 40 million times across social media in recent days, following an Israeli airstrike on the city led to the deaths of dozens of civilians, according to local medics.
The pro-Palestinian image featured the slogan spelled out by tents, a reference to encampments in the vicinity of Rafah where displaced Gazans have sought shelter amid Israel’s offensive there.
Where were your eyes on October 7?
Where are your eyes now when our sons and daughters are being held hostage by Hamas? pic.twitter.com/atHQCDeR1Z— Maya Kadosh (@MayaKadosh) May 28, 2024
In response to the pro-Palestinian campaign, an Israeli Instagram user named Benjamin Jamon created a similar image, also with the use of AI, reading: “Where were your eyes on October 7?” — the day when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people and take over 250 hostages, sparking the war.
All eyes on #Rafah ???????? pic.twitter.com/bg3bAtl3dQ
— The Palestinian (@InsiderWorld_1) May 27, 2024
Jamon’s image featured a Hamas gunman standing over an infant with red hair, implied to be Kfir Bibas, who was nine months old when he was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz with his mother and brother on October 7.
The image was shared roughly half a million times before its creator’s Instagram account was banned, Jamon told Channel 12, adding he had not received an explanation for the ban.
The “All Eyes on Rafah” campaign, by contrast, does not appear to have been removed.
Jamon’s had been shared by numerous Israeli notables, from pop star Omer Adam to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in the 24 hours before it was taken down.
Israel’s campaign in Rafah has elicited sharp criticism internationally since it began in early May. More than a million Palestinians flocked to the city, Gaza’s southernmost, after evacuating the Strip’s north and center on Israel’s orders. The vast majority of the displaced Palestinians have since evacuated to designated humanitarian zones.
