Several Israeli schools are advising parents to erase social media apps from their children’s smartphonetoto keep them from viewing violent and upsetting images related to the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to CNN. According to the story, the parents organization of a Tel Aviv school advised parents to uninstall apps such as Instagram and TikTok.
“We cannot allow our kids to watch this stuff. It is also difficult, furthermore – impossible – to contain all this content on social media. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation,” according to the parent’s association.
David Lange, the founder of Israellycool, shared a screenshot of a message from his daughter’s school on X.
”Dear Parents, We have been informed that videos will be sent soon of our abductees begging for their lives. Please remove the TikTok app from the children’s mobile phones. We cannot afford our children to watch this,” the message read.
Several schools in the United States and the United Kingdom have issued similar warnings.
”’It has come to our attention that deeply disturbing videos, including footage of hostages, may be spread across social media in the near future,” a principal at a public school in New York City said in an email this week, as per NBC News.
”These videos and images will likely be shared through Instagram, TikTok, and other social media outlets. We strongly encourage you to consider having your children delete these apps for the time being, putting up additional parental controls, and/or assisting them in exercising extreme discretion around social media,” the email read.
Concerns over disinformation and threats during Israel-Hamas conflict
Several horrifying videos of injured and dead citizens, as well as civilian abductions, have already circulated online. Hundreds of fraudulent and deceptive videos are also making the rounds on social media. The European Union cautioned Elon Musk on Tuesday of ”penalties” for disinformation spreading on X during the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Meanwhile, Hamas has threatened to post hostage murders on social media if Israel kills people in Gaza without notice. According to Israel, about 150 of its nationals, including women, children, and the elderly, are being held captive.