Undergraduate Thesis

Abstract

In this paper, I provide a broad overview of the methods of controlling the narrative surrounding the Palestine-Israeli conflict. The need for this research arises on the one hand from pro-Israeli media bias and on the other hand from the importance of public opinion in allowing Israel’s continued oppression of the Palestinian people, as shown by Amnesty International. With the combination of primary and secondary research, the study reveals motives and biases against the Palestinian people through the manipulation of local media in the region, global mass media, and social media resulting in Israel’s successful control of the conflict’s narrative. The qualitative primary research in the form of an interview with Lara Elborno, lawyer and activist, focuses on social media censorship and the shadowbanning of Palestinians. The quantitative survey analyzes the pattern between the type of media consumed and opinion regarding the conflict and shows that those who consume news on social media have prevailing pro-Palestinian views, despite the level of censorship on the platform. The secondary research focuses on analyzing how and why Orientalist bias is pervasive in Western news coverage through the application of Herman and Chomsky's Propaganda Model, and Bernays’ theory on manipulation of public opinion. The paper further analyzes the spread of Orientalist bias to the digital realm of social media through algorithmic biases that target Palestinians and the involvement of the Israeli government.