The genocide in Palestine (Gaza) was not only a war on an occupied people that has resulted in deaths said to be much higher than stated, according to The Lancet and more recently the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese. Albanese warned that the true death toll from the Israeli offensive in Gaza could be as high as 680,000 killed, mostly women and children.
We have all seen the indescribable damage to institutions of learning, healing, and worship. This was a war also against truth and justice, but importantly marked the unraveling of Israel as a warmonger as its hasbara lies in shreds. But one thing we have learnt about fighting against anti-Palestinian hate and injustice generally in the world is that the oppressor, once defeated, does not simply lay down and accept it. They turn around and fight back whilst those pro-justice advocates go back to living their normal lives in an abnormal world.
Let us take the case of TikTok, which has been highly credited for spreading more factual views about Israel and their most immoral army in the world, and their killings of largely Palestinian women and children that the world has widely recognised as a genocide.
So, what did they do about TikTok? They started a campaign against it, stating amongst other things that it was a security risk and that China could get access to user data or manipulate the algorithm for propaganda or division.
Trump always recognised the value of TikTok for his recent electoral success and through threats, propaganda, and law wanted to make a “smash and grab” of TikTok for its own purposes.
In September last year (2025) we found proof when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was secretly recorded boasting to his class of influencers at Israel’s Consulate General in New York that TikTok was “the most important purchase going on right now.” He also added that X (formerly Twitter) are key “weapons” for Israel.
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A few days ago, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sold its majority share to a US consortium led by Donald Trump ally Larry Ellison, as well as Silver Lake and Emirati investment firm MGX. Collectively, the new partners hold a 50% stake, while ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake. This has not gone unnoticed by pro-Palestine protestors.
They fear that Palestinian voices will be censored as Netanyahu wished, and that they now are able to change the algorithm to ensure young people watch more pro-Israel content instead of pro-Palestinian content.
The biggest innovation for the social justice movement, at least for me, as a media justice activist, brings me to Issam Hijazi.Issam Hijazi is a technologist and the founder and CEO of UpScrolled, as well as the head of Recursive Methods Pty Ltd, an Australia-based company. Hijazi is Palestinian-Jordanian-Australian and has worked with big names like IBM and Oracle, and has lived in various countries including Jordan, UAE, Singapore, and Australia. He created UpScrolled in 2025, when he noticed “meaningful stories disappeared from feeds while misinformation thrived.”
It is reported elsewhere that he began working on it in late 2023, but has risen to prominence as it aims to combat the censorship and shadowbanning of pro-Palestinian voices on mainstream platforms as we will increasingly see on TikTok, but are well aware of on Facebook and other Meta platforms. He strongly criticised the traditional social media platforms for putting profit over principle and for betraying the very ideals they claim to uphold.In an interview we learn that Hijazi lost over 60 family members in Gaza and this was his small response to his loss. On the app, Hijazi and team state that they have built a platform that should “serve people — all people — equally. No hidden agendas. No quiet silencing. No favoritism. A place where freedom of expression is protected, not manipulated, and where social responsibility isn’t an afterthought but the foundation.”
* Hassen Lorgat is a media justice activist.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of or Independent Media.
