‘Half a truth is often a great lie’

Israel’s offensive on Palestine that began in October 2023, and the conflict with Iran in April 2024, has led to the highest point of the country’s global public opinion crisis. Consequently, (digital) public diplomacy has become a priority through the nation-branding of Israel and nation-shaming of the Palestinians. In previous studies, Israel’s use of social media, specifically Twitter (now X), has been characterised by the tailoring of content towards different groups of society, the constant calls for support, and a tendency to brand itself as the only victim. In my paper, I identify the continuation of these trends in the accounts @Israel and @IDF after October 7th. Firstly, calls for support continue to be a priority in Israel’s social media accounts, whether by appealing to the public, celebrities or politicians. Secondly, the use of hashtags helps Israel stay relevant. However, this period differs from previous ones in that hashtags are now used less with the goal to inform, and instead they convey clear political messages, with nation-branding and nation-shaming strategies. Additionally, Israel’s branding as a victim continued after October 7th, together with the shaming of Hamas and anyone who supported them. After the addition of Iran to the conflict, Israel stopped stressing its innocence, and instead highlighted the resilience of its population. Furthermore, the account of the Israel Defence Forces abandoned its activism to focus almost exclusively on operational updates and other military information. These changes evidence a slight turn in Israel’s public diplomacy, even with a number of its traditional pillars still present.