What is ‘All Eyes on Rafah’: the Gaza solidarity campaign going viral on social media and how does it work?
A new activist iconography supporting the victims of the conflict in Gaza to raise awareness of their plight is going viral on social media.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas and the numerous bombings on the Rafah refugee camp by the Israel Defense Forces is causing millions of people around the world to show support for the victims of the attacks that are leaving thousands dead and injured.
In addition to the unconditional support of several UN member states and other countries, millions of users on social media networks have begun to publish stories on their accounts with the same image titled “All Eyes on Rafah”, as a show of support for the victims in the conflict. Some personalities from the world of sports such as Ousmane Dembélé, Aitana Bonmatí, Kurt Zouma or Rafael Leao, among many others, are sharing the same image on their accounts. Other celebrities, such as Paul Pogba or Lewis Hamilton, have not shared that image, but they have published videos of the ongoing humanitarian disaster and other images.
The campaign on social networks began with the encampments and protests of young university students in the United States, which have sought to demonstrate to the world that the Palestinians are not alone and that “the crimes that are being committed in the Gaza Strip they will not be forgotten,” commented one user.
A show of support for the Gazan civilians caught up in the conflict
The attacks by the Israeli army in a humanitarian zone west of Rafah, in al Mawasi, are resulting in a large number of innocent victims who sought a safe haven from the bombings in other parts of the Gaza Strip. Additionally, the thousands of wounded are overwhelming the field hospitals installed in the area.
Due to this massacre, millions of people from all over the world are collaborating to show their support for the Palestinians and their rejection of the Israeli bombings and war in general. The image titled “All Eyes on Rafah”, has already been shared and published across numerous social media networks by millions of users.
The clearly AI-generated image has been able to spread quickly, going viral as it does not violate social media platform rules on violent or graphic content nor trigger sensitive content filters unlike other material that has been posted on social media that shows the direct aftermath of military strikes which platforms have pulled down.