Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Propaganda and Social Media

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) take their social media seriously. Very seriously.

As a nation on a virtual war footing the Israelis are making the most of the communications tools of the day to stridently push their own cause while demonising the enemy. Nothing new there. During WW1 Norman Lindsay proved himself the master of the evocative with his series of recruitment posters – they were positioned to evoke an emotional response in young men, rousing fear and hatred of a dehumanised foe:

DESTROY THIS MAD BRUTE. ENLIST

Social media is the new battleground for hearts and minds, moving the message from street posts to status posts. For the IDF, Twitter and Facebook are their two main engagement platforms, with a lesser presence on YouTube and Pinterest.

Here’s a taste…

Facebook
330,000 likes www.facebook.com/idfonline

Sample Facebook post: “One less scumbag to worry about.”