As the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine continues to progress, celebrities have taken to social media with their stance on the world and it is not tasteful to society.
Ever since the Israel and Hamas conflict began the world recognized and witnessed the ongoing tragedy. Once the news hit social media, well-known celebrities shared their opinion on the ongoing situation. However, some jumped to share an opinion without understanding where the content they were posting originated from.
Celebrities ranging from Gal Gadot, Kylie Jenner and Florence Pugh expressing their support for Israel, celebrities like Jamie Lee Curtis and Justin Bieber were claiming support for Israel while unintentionally showing support towards Palestine with the images they shared.
Many of these public figures came out on social media condemning supposed violence against Israel while the pictures they posted were of a missile-ridden Gaza and Palestinian people.
Other stars such as Dua Lipa, Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid shared their support for Palestine and praised them as “freedom fighters.” Hadid, supporter of the “Free Palestine” movement and general Palestinian rights made more detailed comments on what is happening in West Asia.
“The terrorizing of innocent people is not in alignment with and does not look good for the ‘Free Palestine’ movement,” Hadid said.
What causes such discourse is the mere fact that many celebrities do not educate themselves properly about this ongoing conflict. Many of these idolized celebrities did not take into consideration the people being affected and have more sympathy for the victims.
In such a difficult moment in history, it is important for people to gain empathy and respect for others. With such high platforms, celebrities need to make sure they are using it for good and being empathetic towards the public.
Many are influenced easily, social media can be an easy way to get manipulated into viewing false realities and misinformation.
The reality of it all is that celebrities and people all over the world need to do a better job at educating themselves before they set a firm belief. Many do not acknowledge the extreme measures people overseas have gone through.
It is prominent for people to look at the overall issue of innocent lives being affected.
UTEP student Sonya Quickley shares how she feels towards celebrities sharing their stance on social media too soon.
“With the situation of Palestine and Israel I feel like they have the power to spread a lot of misinformation about the subject,” Quickley said. “I feel like celebrities aren’t taking precaution when speaking about the situation, especially when their opinions carry so much influence over others.”
Innocent individuals are being affected and everyone needs to take into accountability the extreme measure of it all.
It is highly insensitive for celebrities to be sharing support for one side when something so drastic and traumatic is slowly uprising to a larger issue.
UTEP student Diana Hernandez speaks on how celebrities need to be more mindful about what they post and to educate themselves.
“I think that they should vocalize that they’re willing to educate themselves on worldwide issues before taking it to social media and sounding naïve,” Hernandez said. “It can come across as harmful and insensitive to many.”
As the crisis continues and numerous lives are on the line, it is vital for social media users to educate themselves and have empathy for those affected.
Marco Hinojosa is the audience and engagement editor and may be reached at [email protected]
