Seven months into the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, more than 35,000 lives have been lost in Palestine with thousands injured and displaced. On May 26, Israel launched airstrikes on Rafah in southern Gaza, where numerous displaced Palestinian civilians were taking refuge in camps, resulting in the deaths of at least 45 people.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the strikes and dubbed them a ‘tragic mishap’. However, on May 28, Israel unleashed airstrikes again in Rafah killing 21. Just days before the massacre in Rafah, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah and to withdraw from the area.
The attack caused a massive fire, and horrifying images of charred bodies and a headless child surfaced on social media. The visuals of the fire in civilian tents triggered worldwide outrage. As many took to social media platforms to share information about the situation, several influential figures globally expressed their solidarity with those affected by the Israeli airstrike. Most popularly, an AI-generated graphic depicting what appear to be camp tents with the text “All Eyes on Rafah” was shared over 40 million times.
According to the BBC, the slogan got traction after a WHO representative working in Palestinian territories, Richard Peeperkorn, in February 2024 told journalists at the time that “All eyes are on Rafah”, warning against Israeli forces attacking the city. After the graphic with the ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ slogan started trending, Hollywood big names and influential personalities such as Mark Ruffalo, Aaron Paul, Bella Hadid, and others shared it.
Several Indian celebrities also participated in the trend and shared the graphic as their Instagram story. This included tennis player Sania Mirza and several Indian actors such as Madhuri Dixit, Konkona Sen Sharma, Swara Bhaskar, Priyanka Chopra, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Varun Dhawan and others.
Right Wing Targets Indian Celebrities
In a December 2023 report, Alt News documented how Indian social media influencers who aligned themselves with the political Right had been on an overdrive sharing and amplifying pro-Israel propaganda on social media — misleading claims, unverifiable narratives, false quotes, old and unrelated photos and videos: misinformation and disinformation of almost every kind.
This time too, as the ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ trend caught up with social media users and particularly celebrities, Right Wing influencers and propaganda mouthpieces started bullying Indian celebrities who shared the aforementioned graphic or expressed support for Palestine, questioning why they hadn’t spoken up about persecuted Hindus in Pakistan or Kashmiri Pandits. Several of these accounts edited the text on the original graphic to read “All Eyes on POK” or “All Eyes on Pakistani Hindus.” Others transformed the graphic into memes that trivialized the massacre in Rafah and the solidarity that followed.
Below are a few instances:
Ritika Sajdeh Attacked by RW Trolls
Indian men’s cricket team captain Rohit Sharma’s wife Ritika Sajdeh was also one among the above names who initially shared the ‘All Eyes On Rafah’ graphic on her Instagram Story. However, Sajdeh deleted her story after being subjected to online bullying by Right-Wing trolls.
Deepak Sharma (@SonOfBharat7), who has often used his platform to amplify misinformation, tweeted a warning for the Indian cricketer and his wife. Sharing an image of the couple he wrote in Hindi: “Dear Rohit Sharma,
Was it your wife’s mistake that she was posting stories in support of the terrorists and barbaric demons today, or are you such a scoundrel that you don’t give her enough money for her needs, and she had to post stories to earn a few rupees?
This was the first mistake, so forgiven.
If it happens again, there will be consequences ✊” (Archive)
प्रिय रोहित शर्मा ज़ी
आपकी पत्नी आज जिन आतंकियों, बर्बर राक्षसों के समर्थन में स्टोरी लगा रही थी क्या वो उसकी गलती थी या तुम हरामीपन करते हो
और उसकी जरूरत के हिसाब से पैसे नहीं देते तो उसने दो रूपये कमाने के लिए स्टोरी लगा दी
पहली गलती थीं इसलिए माफ़
आगे हुईं तो रेला जायेगा ✊ pic.twitter.com/ZLqDF4rkdJ— Deepak Sharma (@SonOfBharat7) May 28, 2024
Below are a few more instances of the Right-wing trolls targeting Ritika Sajdeh.
Mohammed Siraj
Indian cricketer Mohammed Siraj also shared the same graphic on his Instagram story prompting hate from the Right-wing ecosystem.
Premium subscribed X user Moana (@ladynationalist) shared a screenshot of the story shared by Siraj on Instagram and wrote in Hindi: “No matter how much you consider them your own, they will eventually reveal their true nature”. It is apparent from the language that Siraj was being otherized on the basis of his religion. (Archive)
inhe tum kitna bhi apna man|o ye apni jaàt dikha hi denge pic.twitter.com/e3pqgEo639
— Moana (@ladynationalist) May 29, 2024
The same user also posted about several other celebrities targeting them for sharing the viral graphic, especially, individuals who either belonged to the Muslim community or are related to/involved with a Muslim person.
Rhiti Tiwari
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari’s daughter Rhiti Tiwari, who recently joined the BJP, also shared the viral graphic and added a message saying: “Beheading children and burning them alive, amongst the countless other atrocities they’re facing, is beyond evil. To anyone thinking ‘one Insta story won’t do shit’. It will spread awareness and raise your voice, we want a rebellion and we want justice”. However, Rhiti had to delete the post from her story after facing backlash from the Right Wing.
Right-wing influencer Shefali Vaidya shared a video of Rhiti Tiwari with the caption: “This is the same Rhiti Tiwari, daughter of BJP candidate @ManojTiwariMP who shared that meme yesterday about Rafah, and also, she is a member of @BJP4India ! This is a shame that such Izlamic Terr0r supporters are a part of the BJP! cc @blsanthosh @JPNadda”.
Shefali Vaidya also commented on one of Manoj Tiwari’s tweets saying, “Your daughter @RhitiTiwari is supporting the Islamic terrorists of Rafah there, please share some knowledge with her too!”
This is the same Rhiti Tiwari, daughter of BJP candidate @ManojTiwariMP who shared that meme yesterday about Rafah, and also, she is a member of @BJP4India! This is a shame that such Izlamic Terr0r supporters are a part of the BJP! cc @blsanthosh @JPNadda pic.twitter.com/cnEqhrrUzP
— Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 (@ShefVaidya) May 30, 2024
Several others on social media resorted to bullying Rhiti Tiwari for sharing the graphic. Below are a few instances.
Tiwari later shared a clarification on her Instagram story saying that “my eyes have always remained on each and every atrocities happening around and I always have and will simply just stand for humanity”.
Squint Neon Targets Celebrities
Right-wing troll Squint Neon posted a thread with screenshots of posts by several Indian celebrities who had shared the graphic.
Can you @ImRo45 / @tripti_dimri23/ @Varun_dvn ever raise a voice against Hindu prosecution happening in Pakistan or Bangladesh? pic.twitter.com/19TzwCJkFT
— Squint Neon (@TheSquind) May 28, 2024
Squint Neon has a history of targeting and bullying people whose political views don’t align with his. Previously, he routinely posted images of Hindu women who were in any way connected with a Muslim man and unleashed his army of trolls on them. He also repeatedly used an image of a crying Gazan boy as a meme template in order to mock Palestinians. Alt News has done an extensive report on the same.
Raushan Sinha (MrSinha_)
Raushan Sinha or @MrSinha_ on X who had played an extensive role in peddling misinformation related to the conflict since October 2023, also took to his X handle and resorted to whataboutery saying that the posts of solidarity made by the celebrities were a PR activity directed by Hamas.
Randomsena (@randomsena)
Premium subscribed X page Randomsena (@randomsena) tweeted on May 28 that “trolling is the best way to deal with these propagandists”. The page hailed the trolling unleashed by the Right Wing on Ritika Sajdeh and Rhiti Tiwari which led them to delete their stories. The user further claimed that Indian celebrities had shared these posts about Palestine receiving funding from foreign sources.
Several other users on X shared similar tweets targeting those who had shared the graphic or anything related to the killings in Rafah.
‘All Eyes on Rafah’ Graphic Turned into Distasteful Memes
Right-wing influencer and journalist Ajeet Bharti (@ajeetbharti) on May 29 tweeted an edited version of the viral graphic which showed a silhouette of a dog defecating over the text “All Eyes on Rafah”. Sharing the image, he asked in the caption, “Can someone make a silhouette of a pig instead of a dog?”, and his followers delivered. (Archive)
क्या कोई कुकुर के स्थान पर शूकर की सिलुएट बना सकता है? pic.twitter.com/kB8CbJaYAc
— Ajeet Bharti (@ajeetbharti) May 28, 2024
While a few shared the edited graphic with an image of a pig defecating, some others edited the text with abuse. One of the commentators imposed the image of a crying Gazan boy.
Another premium subscribed X user, Vikram Pratap Singh (@VIKRAMPRATAPSIN), who as per his bio is an entrepreneur, shared the same image as Ajeet Bharti and mentioned in his caption: “Fixed it”. His tweet has received more than 20 Lakh views and has been retweeted over 1,900 times. (Archive)
Fixed it pic.twitter.com/GXQbu5flFb
— Vikram Pratap Singh (@VIKRAMPRATAPSIN) May 28, 2024
Right Wing YouTuber Elvish Yadav, who was arrested in March for allegedly selling snake venom at rave parties, shared the viral graphic on Instagram with the text changed. The original text was changed to “All Eyes on POK”. He shared the same edited graphic on X with the caption: “I Condemn Killings Of Human Beings Irrespective Of Their Religions Still My Eyes On POK”.
I Condemn Killings Of Human Beings Irrespective Of Their Religions Still My Eyes On POK pic.twitter.com/cLAQGMw69y
— Elvish Yadav (@ElvishYadav) May 29, 2024
Premium subscribed X user m. (@Rashmalaii) posted a thread praising influencers who shared the edited version of the viral graphic.
Thread🧵
List of celebrities/creators who chose to speak for their own country instead of Palestine
1. Rahul Tewatia pic.twitter.com/OU2rAOJgj7
— m. (@Rashmalaii) May 29, 2024
BJP MP from Karnataka P C Mohan also shared an edited version of the viral graphic wherein the original text was changed to “Aayega to Modi hi” (Modi will be back). However, his son Rithin PM was also among those who had shared the original “All Eyes on Rafah” graphic.
Several other users such as BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar, Right-wing influencer Rishi Bagree followed suit and shared the edited version of the graphic on their social media handles.
On May 30, Union ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated India’s stance on the ongoing war, emphasizing that India had always advocated for a two-state solution to resolve the conflict. Addressing the airstrikes in Rafah, the MEA spokesperson described the incident as “heartbreaking” and noted that India has acknowledged Israel’s initiation of a probe into the civilian deaths.
#WATCH | Delhi: On the Rafah situation, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, “The heartbreaking loss of civilian lives in the displacement camp in Rafah is a matter of deep concern. We have consistently called for the protection of the civilian population and respect for… pic.twitter.com/SocgbDaWt3
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2024
India’s official stance, both historically and under PM Modi’s administration, has been in favour of the recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state. However, ever since the conflict began in October, 2023, Right-wing groups, including staunch supporters of the BJP and PM Modi, have found an opportunity to channelize their Islamophobia and communal hatred in supporting Israel’s alleged war crimes in Palestine. The Indian Right Wing has made its position on the ongoing war in Gaza clear by consistently supporting Israel and mocking injured and dead Palestinians. Alt News has documented and analysed the Right Wing’s role in spearheading the disinformation and propaganda campaign about the conflict.
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