r/InternationalNews • u/thedarkknight16_ • Apr 15 '24
Opinion/Analysis Half of Americans Have No Idea Whether Israelis Or Palestinians Are Suffering More Deaths
https://www.pewresearch.org/2024/03/21/emotions-news-and-knowledge-about-the-israel-hamas-war/302
u/thedarkknight16_ Apr 15 '24
Most Americans report having strong emotional reactions to the Israel-Hamas war. Yet, for the most part, Americans are not paying very close attention to news about the conflict. One sign of this limited attention is that only about half of U.S. adults can correctly answer a question that tests their factual knowledge by asking whether the number of deaths in the war, so far, is higher among Palestinians or among Israelis. (The correct answer is that the death toll is higher among Palestinians.)
This shows just how manipulative and corrupt American media is, that they can warp such a genocide of Palestinians, into confusion.
127
u/Appropriate-Draft-91 Apr 15 '24
I think you underestimate the problem.
I'm pretty sure a significant percentage of those who can point out the death tolls barely even consume American mainstream media. So the remaining ones aren't just guessing 50:50 on the issue, the majority is wrong.
Which means it's not simply confusion, it's the highest level of misinformation. Good is Evil, War is Peace.
50
39
27
Apr 15 '24
It’s propaganda and brainwashing. American media got so good at it that Americans will swear they don’t have any propaganda, while the reality is, all media around them is pure propaganda
12
u/mwa12345 Apr 16 '24
The best propaganda is when the people don't think they are propagandized
Pravda readers mostly knew it was propaganda...I suspect.
8
u/nanais777 Apr 15 '24
Yup! Just like many of the people cheerleading sending more Ukraine money think that’s all the Ukrainians need to fight Russia on even playing field, not realizing Ukraine is running out of men to fight the war and are actively, literally, running from getting conscripted.
6
u/gaylordJakob Apr 16 '24
I really hate how ostracised I was from people IRL for saying in the first 6 weeks - after Ukraine had managed to pull a surprisingly good defensive and slight counter offensive and catch Russia with their pants down - to negotiate a peace deal. Everyone treated me like I was simping for Putin or some shit, but the reality was that Ukraine was NEVER going to be able to win. Opting for peace when they pulled a surprise on Russia was their best negotiating stance for an enduring peace. But people just wanted to believe the media and we've now seen so many young men be killed for the interests of various old men in suits that'll never send their sons to die.
3
u/nanais777 Apr 16 '24
I don’t bring it up at all IRL and I was being downvoted to oblivion and called a Russian plant for months (years now) and still get those things.
I thought after Iraq we had grown wiser to be more skeptical but, boy, was I wrong. You were anti-American then you are Russian now (🤦🏻♂️). That’s how powerful the militarization program agenda is. They want us all to be like yeah wars all over so Lockheed stock can rise even more.
1
u/Appropriate-Draft-91 Apr 16 '24
In hindsight you were correct, but there was quite the fog of war then, and there was no way to sell a peace deal Russia would have accepted at that point to the Ukranian people. After that the momentum shifted drastically with the 2 successful major counteroffensives in 22
To me, the most realistic time for negotiations was after the failed "spring" 23 counteroffensive, because that was going to be the first prolonged period where there was no momentum for either side, making it much easier to find terms that are at least tolerable to both sides.
2
u/nanais777 Apr 16 '24
Not in hindsight. This was plain for anyone to see when you compare industrial capacity, manpower, etc. Ukraine never had a chance.
Btw. The U.S. and uk stood in the way of a peace deal very early on (months into it), this is no speculation given that many people have confirmed it, (I think Naphtali Bennett did too). This was always nothing more than an attempt to “weaken” Russia by using Ukrainian meat shields.
1
u/AutoModerator Apr 16 '24
We have detected the use of dehumanizing language. Terms and phrases such as "human shields", "human animals", etc. can deny or undermine the inherent humanity of a group of people. Please be mindful of the potential harms the use of such language can create. For reference, see: Dehumanization on Wikipedia and The real-life harm caused by dehumanising language on BBC.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
-11
u/DrRonny Apr 15 '24
If I ask people if my shirt is yellow or blue and none of them has seen my shirt, half would guess wrong. So if only half of the population can guess which side has more losses, then 0% of people know for sure. It's the reporting method that's off.
8
u/mwa12345 Apr 16 '24
It's the reporting method that's off.
Suspect the reporting method is deliberate obfuscation
8
u/axebodyspraytester Apr 16 '24
I think part of it has to do with the fact that no matter how many Palestinians are killed in the day in day out bombing the death toll seems to remain the same for weeks or months at a time. We've past a grim threshold of 30,000 deaths 2 months pass the grim death count is approaching 30,005 deaths with 24,000 women and children dead let's talk about October 7th for a few days shall we?
3
u/somehting Apr 16 '24
Well according to the article the main problem is people not caring not being misinformed. Only 7% of people got the question wrong the majority correctly identified Palestinians have died more and the second largest answer was I don't know or haven't been paying attention.
4
u/mwa12345 Apr 16 '24
Exactly. Wouldn't be difficult to see how much media coverage was dedicated to the Israeli victims vs Palestinians.
Heck ..the headlines are even very passive voice. Am hoping someone collects all 6 months of biased headlines ...
3
1
-8
-3
u/MaxwellHoot Apr 16 '24
More German civilians died in WW2 than American civilians. Did we expect the US forces to pull back as soon as we killed as many Japanese as they did in Pearl Harbor? Whatever side you come down on in this fight, it is not about a death toll.
6
u/gaylordJakob Apr 16 '24
More German civilians died in WW2 than American civilians
This is such an ahistorical disingenuous comparison. I get that you're trying to say that wars aren't decided by death tolls, but what's happening in Gaza right now is not a war; it's a genocide.
0
u/MaxwellHoot Apr 17 '24
It’s not a genocide, it’s war. It’s bloody, it’s inhumane, but it’s not genocide. That’s just typically how wars go.
1
u/gaylordJakob Apr 17 '24
No formal army and half the population being under 18 isn't a war. Piss off with that Hasbara propaganda shit.
0
0
u/MaxwellHoot Apr 17 '24
What was “ahistorical” about that? It’s a fact, it’s not spun up any way, it’s simply a fact…
98
u/DuePractice8595 Apr 15 '24
It’s by design. The Israel lobby owns the west. It sounds absolutely insane until you see it for yourself.
Here is the expose about the Israel lobby in the UK if you’re on the other side of the pond. They literally own mainstream media, most politicians, and big tech.
17
u/vinnybawbaw Apr 15 '24
Yeah there’s a lot of misinformation out there and the narrative is tightly controlled, but there’s so many ways to gather real infos about what’s really happening.
That’s also one of the reasons why the Millenials and Z are so pissed and the X/Boomers are clueless/tends to take Israel’s side.
2
68
u/Talulah-Schmooly Apr 15 '24
Holy shit... Half the world consists of literal morons.
24
u/Boo-TheSpaceHamster Apr 15 '24
Americans do not constitute the world though. Just thought I should point out this common misconception.
11
Apr 15 '24 edited Jun 30 '24
zealous voracious apparatus bright silky consist judicious berserk stocking cautious
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
0
u/Boo-TheSpaceHamster Apr 16 '24
I was making fun of the post I replied to equating the title of the thread that says "half of Americans" with "half the world". It's so common in American self perception I thought it was worth a bit of tongue-in-cheek ridicule.
0
u/Talulah-Schmooly Apr 16 '24
I'm not an American and as I said, I don't believe the rest of the world is doing much better.
-1
Apr 15 '24
[deleted]
6
Apr 16 '24
[deleted]
0
Apr 16 '24
[deleted]
1
Apr 16 '24
[deleted]
-1
2
1
u/Talulah-Schmooly Apr 16 '24
We like to make fun of the "dumb Americans", but lately I have been forced to accept the conclusion that people in other countries don't do much better.
4
Apr 15 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
4
u/wherescookie Apr 15 '24
You are wrong on what “average” means…..but i do agree, most north americans are probably not well informed on this issue and isreal is taking advantage of the apathy to kill innocents
0
1
u/weinsteinspotplants Apr 15 '24
This stat only speaks for America.
0
u/Talulah-Schmooly Apr 16 '24
Do you think the rest of the world is doing much better? I'm not sure if you've been paying much attention, but it seems idiots everywhere are taking over.
1
u/weinsteinspotplants Apr 17 '24
This post starts with "Half of Americans...". and hence my comment. Fuck this thread, and fuck the occupation, genocidal, IOF of Israel Zionists.
0
u/weinsteinspotplants Apr 17 '24
And yes, I think the world is fucked because of the influence that the US has had over the last generations through media. Why do you think Israel is getting away with genocide? US media is why.
1
Apr 16 '24
“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”
People are actually pushing for conflict instead of de-escalation. It is tragic.
0
Apr 15 '24
[deleted]
2
u/Talulah-Schmooly Apr 16 '24
No I disagree. This is something you should be able to know with absolutely minimal effort. But even if true, this kind of cognitive laziness translates to effectively the same thing.
0
u/AnthraxSoup Apr 15 '24
Ironic that you insist half the world are morons while getting America and the World mixed up lmao
1
u/Talulah-Schmooly Apr 16 '24
If you had bothered to read a little bit further, you would've understood that I don't think the US is an exemption. But yes, very "ironic".
13
38
u/Regular_Ad_6818 Apr 15 '24
Americans can't even identify countries in this hemisphere. Europe is anyone's guess and Asia might as well be on the moon. Any event that isn't 50 miles from where they live, is irrelevant to them. We're seriously uneducated in a complex world. Does not bode well for us.
15
u/pcnetworx1 Apr 15 '24
People are underestimating how busted and broken America is going to look by 2100. If China and India were able to have their empires get broken and collapse for hundreds of years, The USA is not immune.
4
Apr 15 '24 edited Jun 30 '24
historical hat combative coherent meeting escape crush worthless work mysterious
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
4
u/levi_Kazama209 Apr 15 '24
Except most of those dam videos are cherry picking the worst answers and never show the rest.
4
21
u/Burgundy_Starfish Apr 15 '24
The propaganda campaign is very, very powerful. If you look at…. let’s just say, some very popular subs… you’d think that public discourse is wildly in favor of absolute retribution/ scorched earth and that most people are war hawks who love Israeli nationalism. THANK GOD Instagram as a whole hasn’t gone that route. I know people will roll their eyes at that, but social media (including Reddit) influences people so much
5
u/SWEET_BUS_MAN Apr 15 '24
The hasbara troll machine is running on fumes as far as rhetoric is concerned. The newest evidence is their attempt to make everyone think Iran launched an unprovoked attack and that they didn’t inform anyone.
The turnaround from “Iran says they will attack within two weeks” to “Iran will attack within 48 hours” as relayed by EVERY RELEVANT WESTERN LEADER + ISRAEL to “Iran did not warn anyone and this was a surprise attack” is mind-numbing.
They’re confident that the rest of the world is as brainwashed by their propaganda as their own citizens.
Anyone that’s not buying their manufactured consent are attacked and defamed.
5
6
12
u/HappyAtheist3 Apr 15 '24
I wonder why they wanna ban Tik Tok
-2
u/Sh4dow101 Apr 16 '24
Because it collects data directly for the CCP?
2
u/Gullible-Effect-7391 Apr 16 '24
And the CCP ownership means it can (and evidence suggests already has been) be used for information warfare by screwing with the algorithm.
Left wing news, Reddit, Instagram, Twitter, even twitch streamers. You can find them clips everywhere. Half of America already lost grip with reality and thinks trump is Jezus. We don't need hostile governments to decide what is true for us.
4
5
u/BoxHillStrangler Apr 16 '24
You've got to be either actively avoiding news on this or so balls deep in your echo chamber of choice that it wouldn't make a difference if you heard the truth.
3
2
u/notyourbrobro10 Apr 15 '24
We're not known for our smarts or deep levels of care for other people, but gotdamn do we have sweet trucknuts.
2
2
u/NoraVanderbooben Apr 16 '24
This bums me out but it’s not surprising. For all the people who do pay attention, just as many are content not to.
2
2
u/mrkl3en Apr 16 '24
You have to stand in awe of the propaganda machine that is cable of this level of mindfucking
2
2
2
u/sfairleigh83 Apr 16 '24
You know it's almost intolerable, that these atrocious acts are being streamed in real time and the vast majority of the western world can force ignorance on themselves.
This intellectual disingenuous moral weaknesses, is positively infuriating, and feels insurmountable
2
u/AzanianPun Apr 16 '24
The propaganda machinery is robust and the Zionist’s lobby groups are not sleeping orchestrating this grand misinformation in USA. In South Africa it’s a different story, 8/10 you can predict a person’s position on the Gaza situation based on the colour of their skin even with facts before them and less propaganda/manipulation.
2
u/Electronic_Can_3141 Apr 16 '24
US is the most successfully propagandized country ever.
Average American: “what propaganda?”
Exactly
2
3
u/originalbL1X Apr 15 '24
Like I’ve said before, what side you take comes down to how much you’re paying attention and Americans are working too hard to know what’s going on. They just turn on the preferred news source and believe whatever they’re told.
1
u/bee_ghoul Apr 16 '24
Lots of people work hard, they still read
1
u/originalbL1X Apr 16 '24
Many Americans don’t read anything other than the attempted memes in their facebook feed.
1
1
1
u/somehting Apr 16 '24
Most people are not misinformed: Just 7% said more Israelis have died, and an additional 7% said the number of deaths had been about the same. But 34% said they were not sure of the answer.
93% of Americans didn't get the question wrong, people are misreading the report in this thread. 7% of Americans are misinformed, but the actual conclusion is that just under half aren't paying attention or don't care about the conflict and answered they don't know.
The ratio of people who got the answer right vs were misinformed was 8 to 1
1
1
Apr 16 '24
Not unusual. I was talking to someone the other day who had no idea what a Zionist is and seemed to be entirely unaware of the whole situation there.
1
u/Br1ghtL1ght420 Apr 16 '24
According to telegram Palestinians are suffering wayyy more. Is Tel Aviv in ruins? Can Israelis eat comfortably in their own home?
C'mon Ref 🫱
1
u/Billytheca Apr 16 '24
Seriously, who watches main stream media anymore? I haven’t watched it for years.
1
u/liveforever67 Apr 16 '24
Well I can definitely tell you WHY Joe Biden is supporting this …actually I’ll let him tell you..
1
u/ChiefKeefSosabb Apr 16 '24
Hamas so far have killed 200k zionists. Don't let the media fool you. We are winning the war, Last week israel was about to surrender
1
-1
u/TocoBellKing Apr 16 '24
If I wasn’t on Reddit I wouldn’t even know about the conflict. I don’t tend to concern myself with matters that don’t pertain to me
-1
-5
u/gagnatron5000 Apr 15 '24
How about y'all just not kill each other?
If you're gonna anyway, don't drag us into it.
2
u/RubLatter Apr 16 '24
We drag ourselves into it what are you talking about? Our gov has something to do in middle east including Israel and Palestine. At least we need to open our eyes on it don't be ignorant.
-2
u/gagnatron5000 Apr 16 '24
Nah, they've been at it for centuries, anyone else's involvement isn't gonna make a bit of difference.
3
u/RubLatter Apr 16 '24
Tell that to all those military fund we gave to Israel, stop that and make it a student loan fund instead or something else.
-1
u/gagnatron5000 Apr 16 '24
That's what I'm saying! I'm really not on board on backing either end of a fight that both sides are hellbent on destroying each other.
If they stop fighting, hopefully the US won't have a reason to send money over there.
-5
-8
Apr 15 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
7
Apr 15 '24
They were shielding, checks notes, the 70% of the buildings in the strip of land they are confined to that have been bombed
6
u/JadeDansk Apr 15 '24 edited Apr 15 '24
“Using human shields” has a definition under international law and does not just mean “when a militant group operates in an urban area”, nor does it even mean “taking hostages”.
If you’re wondering what using human shields looks like, it looks like this: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/un-report-accuses-israeli-forces-of-using-palestinian-children-as-human-shields-abusing-children-in-custody/
Edit: grammar
1
u/AutoModerator Apr 15 '24
We have detected the use of dehumanizing language. Terms and phrases such as "human shields", "human animals", etc. can deny or undermine the inherent humanity of a group of people. Please be mindful of the potential harms the use of such language can create. For reference, see: Dehumanization on Wikipedia and The real-life harm caused by dehumanising language on BBC.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/AutoModerator Apr 15 '24
We have detected the use of dehumanizing language. Terms and phrases such as "human shields", "human animals", etc. can deny or undermine the inherent humanity of a group of people. Please be mindful of the potential harms the use of such language can create. For reference, see: Dehumanization on Wikipedia and The real-life harm caused by dehumanising language on BBC.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
•
u/AutoModerator Apr 15 '24
Remember the human & be courteous to others.
Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas. Criticizing arguments is fine, name-calling (including shill/bot accusations) others is not.
If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
Please checkout our other subreddit /r/MultimediaNews, for maps, infographics, v.reddit, & YouTube videos from news organizations.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.