IDF Starts Gaza YouTube Channel; Already Hit With Terms of Use Violations

The Isael Defense forces have started a YouTube channel to show the precision and care they are taking in destroying Hamas terrorist weapons dumps smuggling tunnels, and rocket launching sites located in residential areas by the terrorists. Hamas places the sites among homes and school in hopes that innocent civilians—particularly children—will be killed. Hamas can then use Palestinian and Arab cameramen with sympathies towards their cause to take pictures of the dead and wounded civilians for Hamas' propaganda war, which is typically waged via cameramen from Reuters, AFP, and the Associated Press.

Typically, as in the 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, these photos are stage managed to varying degrees, while a few are occasionally staged.

Some photos are staged by physically manipulating scenes for news photographers to photograph, though the primary way Hamas manipulates the media is to tightly control their access, limiting photographers to areas where they can take generally only take pictures of dead and wounded civilians and Hamas &qout;police," never allowing them access to photograph bombed weapons smuggling tunnels, missile launching sites, and other legitimate military targets.

The IDF YouTube channel is a vital dissemination tool to counter the propaganda photos staged by Hamas and willingly participated in by the world's media outlets, and so it is perhaps no real surprise that the channel itself is already under attack.

Several of the videos showing the Isreali Air Force hitting Hamas rocket launching sites with GBU-39 precision-guided bombs have been flagged by pro-Hamas (or at least anti-Israeli) users and momentarily removed for terms of use violations before being restored. Some have been removed and have not been restored. Expect this online battle to continue, and perhaps intensify.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 11:57 AM

Comments

1 The American press has been doing the same thing to us for years, working the message till it no longer resembles the truth. The MSM is the counterpart to Hamas, Conservative websites are the counterpart to the IDF.

We have to teach our children how to go find the truth now. It does not appear at the simple flip of a TV on button.

Posted by: JK at December 30, 2008 12:37 PM (Z7PN0)

2 Seems like a "TrueTube" service is needed.

Posted by: Kevin at December 30, 2008 12:48 PM (roJck)

3 The IDF should start a channel at LiveLeak instead.

Posted by: Craig at December 30, 2008 12:51 PM (mEJO6)

4 As a beginning, you see the shortcomings of you tube.
The IDF needs to start a site owned by the Israeli government, hosted on hardware they own, and hooked up to backbone they control (leased to Israeli government)(, and protected from hackers by Israeli employees (government or contract)
If they can find reliable hosting elsewhere, they can always redirect the links later. (and if the hosting doesn't prove reliable they can take it back "inhouse").
Probably a distributed node network architecture, but all the hardware should be in Israel or Israel's embassies.

yanking utility service to embassies because you don't like what they are saying violates "international law".

Posted by: J'hn1 at December 30, 2008 12:55 PM (+A1UB)

5 Good to see the IDF following MNFIRAQ into cyberspace!

Posted by: desertdweller at December 30, 2008 12:58 PM (26nvS)

6 The IDF should start a channel at LiveLeak instead.

No, use both.

Demonstrating what YouTube won't show is just as important as the video itself.

Posted by: edh at December 30, 2008 12:59 PM (OjT5k)

7 Why doesn't the IDF just buy YouTube or start their own video hosting site. They could call it "JewTube"

(don't flame me, folks, it's just a joke. OK?)

Posted by: Ralph Gizzip at December 30, 2008 01:01 PM (9UpXS)

8 there's an MIT website which features all video that's been deleted by YouTube -- called YouTomb -- available at youtube.mit.edu (I haven't yet checked the YouTomb site for any youtube deleted IDF videos).

Posted by: J.S. at December 30, 2008 01:01 PM (P7eMS)

9 correction: make that "youtomb.mit.edu" (for deleted YouTube videos).

Posted by: J.S. at December 30, 2008 01:03 PM (P7eMS)

10 "it's just a joke. OK"

and a funny one at that.

Posted by: Boyd at December 30, 2008 01:05 PM (0hVL5)

11 Ralph, it was a lousy joke.

Posted by: Graham at December 30, 2008 01:05 PM (lxgQ7)

12 That's what they did to me too. Censored by the Obamabots. This is a big problem that Google needs to figure out ASAP.

Posted by: cakesecret at December 30, 2008 01:05 PM (uUGtX)

13 The IDF YouTube channel will be back up and running momentarily.

The AP is now reporting that beautiful Mossad agents have infiltrated YouTube HQ, seduced the staff, and incapacitated them all with poisoned lipstick.

Posted by: driver at December 30, 2008 01:50 PM (25C9v)

14 They could also try Blip.tv

Posted by: SSG Jeff (USAR) at December 30, 2008 02:42 PM (UrQ4c)

15 What? The media is allowing itself to be manipulated by one side of a political argument? I'm shocked, shocked! What are professional journalists doing to maintain their independence? They are professionals, aren't they? Hello? Hello? Anyone there? Hello? Oh, boy....

Posted by: Ed at December 30, 2008 02:51 PM (PCF7a)

16
RE

don't flame me, folks, it's just a joke. OK?)

Posted by: Ralph Gizzip at December 30, 2008 01:01 PM

It's a type of joke that an antisemite would make.

Posted by: TT at December 30, 2008 02:55 PM (1IhU+)

17 So much for "don't be evil".

Posted by: Vaultenblogger at December 30, 2008 03:21 PM (HG6DM)

18 It could also be a comment that a Jew might make. I see no harm.

Posted by: Eric at December 30, 2008 03:28 PM (rawx6)

19 the problem with the suggestions of other video hosting sites is that they don't get the traffic Youtube does. If the IDF wants a lot of people to see its material, especially people who aren't already pro-Israel, Youtube is the place to be.

On Youtube you can post a video as a response to another video. The IDF should do that with every jihadi video.

Posted by: Yehudit at December 30, 2008 03:33 PM (0Tzs7)

20 I agree with Yehudit. I think the public relations war is almost as important as the real war against Hamas.

The IDF cannot rely on the international media since they are being led by the nose and are only reporting one side.

So you will always get stories where the IDF are commiting atrocities while Hamas are freedom fighters. So the IDF needs to counterattack on land as well as in cyberspace.

Posted by: Joemama at December 30, 2008 04:30 PM (MIJuy)

21 I worked at Youtube owner Google for a year as a contractor. The political leanings of the majority of the employees was so extremely leftist that it was a bit uncomfortable for a moderate such as myself.

I am completely not surprised that the politics of the employees affects what is considered acceptable.

Posted by: Ogre at December 30, 2008 04:46 PM (mqYab)

22 There IS a website called "Jewtube.com" and it appears to have Jewish and Israeli related video content on it.

Posted by: Bob in Houston at December 30, 2008 05:08 PM (sSr5k)

23 I occasionally post vidblogs, and the most recent one I posted on YouTube was posted to be seen, but for some reason the "email" option was shut off (not because I did it...I tried to change it and it wouldn't let me). It was about the dangers of gun control. Friends had to pass it around the long way because YouTube deliberately shut off that feature for that particular vidblog.

Censorship takes many faces.

Posted by: MelMaguire at December 30, 2008 06:39 PM (sBm2i)

24 How would someone in their right mind still believe they would get a fair shake from youtube?
Is this an example of Israeli intelligence?

Posted by: papertiger at December 30, 2008 06:52 PM (VFSPG)

25 Hey, papertiger, what makes you suppose that the Israelis expected a fair shake from YouTube?

I'd be surprised if Israeli intelligence hadn't already wargamed the Google/YouTube octopus' response. Now that the lefty Googloctopus has been busted for acting on behalf of Hamas by pulling the plug on Israel's attempts to get its side of the story out, Israel wins because (a) there's more interest than ever in the IDF videos, (b) more people are hearing about how Paliwood fakes its propaganda stories, and (c) lefty Hamas-symps like the Googloctopus are discredited that much more. What's not to like?

Posted by: Micha Elyi at December 30, 2008 09:17 PM (6j2L1)

26 Israel always creams the bad guys on the battlefield, then loses politically and in the media. Perhaps they are learning: there were some nice deception touches preceding the current war, an Israeli politico-military first.

Posted by: Bleepless at December 30, 2008 09:54 PM (2UF9E)

27 Does anyone know the link to the IDF channel?

Posted by: Jax at December 30, 2008 10:09 PM (evI68)

28 Two of the deleted IDF YouTube videos are now available via Powerline. The site is sluggish and the videos load v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y, probably because of the number of users attempting to view them.

The videos show the degree of care the IDF exercises in singling out active Hamas members, especially when compared to the indiscriminate rocket attacks by the terrorists.

Posted by: Just Askin' at December 30, 2008 10:11 PM (esv00)

29 I suspect that if you look at the terms of use very closely, you'll find that being a zionist, advocating zionism, and portraying zionism in a positive light are per se terms of use violations.

But there's nothing in there about chopping off heads.

Posted by: Deuce Geary at December 30, 2008 10:27 PM (rZoaz)

30 I saw something very interesting today on current TV. That's Al Gore's network where they play homemade (and otherwise) videos that pass the youtube filters. Only 100% AP, Google, Youtube, DNC, approved content, all the time.

What I saw was a twenty minute spot devoted to a masked Hamas fellow building a rocket, then shooting it at Israel.
It was produced by Collective Media.

Posted by: papertiger at December 31, 2008 10:05 AM (8lx0N)

31 Videos of IDF striking Hamas
Here are some videos of the IDF bombing Hamas military targets. Reportedly, some of these videos have been removed from youtube.

Posted by: The Intellectual Redneck at December 31, 2008 10:27 AM (FMXM9)

32 Jihadi videos and antisemitic videos ok on you tube, pro Israel truthful videos verboten. Google should be ashamed of itself, but that would require a conscience.

Posted by: eaglewingz08 at December 31, 2008 11:24 AM (qh8b9)

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