Israel Has A Fake News Problem, Too
BERLIN, GERMANY – JUNE 04: Israel’s Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media during a joint press conference with German chancellor Merkel in the German Chancellory on June 4, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. The meeting focuses on bilateral relationship as well as the actual situation of Iran and war in Syria. (Photo by Michele Tantussi/Getty Images) Image by Getty Images
By The Whistle June 5, 2018
During an interview on the Knesset channel last week, Member of Knesset Bezalel Smotrich was asked to comment on a statement made by his party member, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, who recently said she would be willing to welcome LGBT candidates to the party. Smotrich responded by saying that “fundamentally, a religious party can contain, and love, and understand, and sympathize, [however] it absolutely cannot legitimize same-sex marriage, because it goes against the Torah, against Jewish values, and, in my opinion, against what is good and right for society.” Smotrich then shared a surprising figure, and remarked: “you know, half of the citizens of the United States are conservative Republicans who oppose same-sex marriage, even without wearing a kippah (yarmulke).”
Surprising or not, Smotrich was way off. Public opinion polls from past years show that most US citizens support same-sex marriage. According to a Pew survey from 2017, 62% of adults in the United States support same-sex marriage, while 32% oppose it. According to a Gallup poll, as of May 2018, 67% of US citizens believe that same-sex marriages should be legally valid, while 31% oppose them. Both Pew and Gallup indicated these were the highest levels ever surveyed. Pew marked a 27 percentage point increase since the first survey in 2001, in which only 35% of respondents supported same-sex marriage, and Gallup observed a 40% increase since 1996, when only 27% of respondents supported LGBT marriages.
Image by Pew Research Center
Moreover, while support for same-sex marriages is higher among Democratic voters compared to Republicans, both populations have increased their support over the years. According to the Gallup poll, the rate of support for same-sex marriages among Democrats reached a record high of 83% in 2018, while only 44% of Republicans expressed their support. According to the Pew survey, 2017 marked the first year in which less than 50% of Republicans opposed same-sex marriage: 48% of Republican voters opposed same-sex marriage, while 47% supported. Another survey, published by the Public Religion Research Institute in 2018, found that a small majority of Republicans who are surveyed regularly — 51% — oppose same-sex marriage, and 42% support it. Opposition to same-sex marriage is higher among conservative Republicans, as opposed to those who define themselves “liberal” or “moderate” Republicans, with 58% of the vote.
What happened to Smotrich? He made a twofold mistake: not only did he get the data completely wrong, but he also forgot that most people across the political spectrum, religious and secular alike, still care deeply about facts.
In that regard, it seems that Smotrich is in good company. Only last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has become known for stretching the borders of the truth, made a similar mistake. Netanyahu shared a fabricated “news item” on his Facebook account, which was previously published by “Arutz Sheva.” In so doing, he echoed a false claim made against Arab soccer fans, who allegedly desecrated a moment of silence honoring the victims of a recent flood before the match began. The lie was revealed immediately in this case, as the opposing team’s management and the Administration of the Soccer League both testified there was nothing of that sort during any part of the match. Netanyahu eventually erased the post from his Facebook account, only it took him five days to get to it.
Why did Smotrich, and Netanyahu for that matter, speak so confidently while the truth was clearly not on their side? Is it because the media is broken? Were they simply ill-informed, or was it intentional? Is it because narratives matter more than facts these days? The last Presidential campaign taught us all too well that spreading lies and apologizing for them (in some cases) is easier and more worthwhile than avoiding them in the first place. So the question remains — How can we retaliate against “Fake News”? At this point in time, one thing we can all do is to continue fact-checking elected representatives and the media. Another is to reenact an old campaign called “Frown Power.” In a time when hate speech was widespread and those who opposed it were cornered and outnumbered, civil rights activist Stetson Kennedy came up with a clever and efficient campaign to combat it: the campaign encouraged ordinary citizens to frown upon bigotry whenever they came across it, signalling that Americans were unwilling to tolerate racism and hate speech.
When Oxford Dictionaries declared “Post-Truth” as word of the year for 2016, fact-checkers worldwide were split between the joy of realizing how crucial their work is and the anguish of realizing facts are not always the antidote. Just like Stetson Kennedy’s courage at a time of great uncertainty and fear, one thing to remember and rely on is the public’s demand for accurate, fact-based information. Most people still find it disturbing when their doctors, lawyers or spouses lose their credibility. Why should our politicians be treated differently? Intercepting lies and falsehoods isn’t easy, but giving up is not an option. Our only option, at this stage, is fighting back and causing public damage to those who taint our trust in the system.
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