Researchers have documented specific public figures and media accounts amplifying false or misleading claims about October 7. One traceable example is influencer Jackson Hinkle’s October 2023 post falsely claiming that only 900 Israelis died and half were soldiers; Haaretz publicly said the post misrepresented its reporting. Institute for Strategic Dialogue analysis.
How a false claim spreads
ISD’s analysis found that users circulated reputable articles while misrepresenting their contents. It described Hinkle’s post and reported that it had accumulated more than five million views by the time of the study.
The same report tracked false claims that Israeli aircraft killed festival-goers using footage released by the IDF on October 9. FactCheck.org identified the footage as strikes in Gaza on October 8, not footage of the festival on October 7. ISD counted more than 13,000 mentions by over 10,000 unique authors in its dataset, with the clip repeatedly recirculated after journalists had corrected its context. FactCheck.org’s verification of the clip.
ISD also tracked how a Grayzone article and related posts framed October 7 deaths as caused by Israeli forces. The UN Commission separately found that Hamas and other armed groups intentionally directed attacks against civilians. UN Commission summary.
For more on the underlying claims, see the evidence guide and victim counts and civilian status.