Pasta video, ADHD confessional, dead bodies, ‘You’re wrong about’ monologues, burrito video, dead bodies, hate speech… The slot machine nature of TikTok means that every time you tug on the lever, you’re met with a complete surprise. Will it be something benign, friendly and cute, or will it be something offensive, gory and visceral? Beware curiosity; linger on any type of the billions of videos that have been created about the Israel-Hamas conflict and you’ll eventually see footage of dead babies.
Videos have long been crucial in proving war’s brutality and two years ago Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine was widely dubbed ‘the first social media war’. But for the Israel-Hamas conflict, video is the most prolific way of engaging with it. While just 1 per cent of adults used TikTok as a source of news in 2020, Ofcom statistics have this rising to 10 per cent by 2022.
