Waves of smoke rise from the Gaza skyline as charred and injured bodies lie scattered around a destroyed camp in the “safe zone”. Israel’s military operations in Rafah this week killed 45 civilians and injured hundreds, most of them women and children. In response, outraged international communities condemn the Israeli attacks on Rafah and call for a ceasefire.
The outcry was championed on social media through the ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ campaign, shared by more than 46 million users, including celebrities, activists and politicians, and drew widespread attention to the crisis in Gaza.
However, the AI-generated campaign image, devoid of any violence or destruction, raised criticism about performative activism and the erasure of the brutal reality of the Gaza crisis.
Experts say the image could have been generated by AI to bypass Meta’s content moderation policies and ensure it was not removed for depicting violence or destruction.
However, the viral image has sparked criticism as many question the ethics of using an AI-generated image that shows none of the brutality in Rafah, especially when large amounts of images of death and destruction are shared daily by civilians, groups of humanitarian aid. workers and journalists on the ground in Gaza.
Those who criticize the trend blame the “sanitization” of the conflict to make it social media-friendly and risk erasing the truth about the severity of the crisis the Palestinians currently find themselves in. The image does not adequately capture the atrocities committed against people displaced from Gaza, they argued.
“The Palestinians did not document the genocide happening just for us to use [an] AI image to raise awareness,” said one X user.
I know people mean well, but the Palestinians didn’t document the genocide happening just so we can use the AI image to raise awareness about what’s happening.
witness their resilience, resistance and eventual liberation.
all eyes on Rafah. Free Palestine.
pic.twitter.com/vt05ob5vUU— R (@arhcamt) May 29, 2024
The AI-generated ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ campaign image features unnaturally symmetrical and pristine tent camps with no humans in sight.
Another concern is that the campaign is moving towards performative activism, drawing parallels to the Black Lives Matter “black square” social media trend in 2020. Many are sharing the “All eyes on Rafah” image without doing nothing more to show solidarity with the Palestinians. Charged mainly against celebrities, critics say that sharing the image after months of silence on the subject could be a way to avoid backlash for not previously supporting the cause.
Another X user claimed that celebrities are jumping on the trend because it is “aesthetically pleasing”, “vague and far from reality”.
I feel like the main reason celebrities are using this AI image for All Eyes on Rafah is because it is “aesthetically pleasing” and is now seen as trendy. This along with the fact that it is vague and distant from reality.
This is not an AI-generated genocide. It’s real. Use real photos. https://t.co/0VT10udK8B
-Kristin Siân Bingham (@KristinBingham) May 29, 2024
One user labeled the trend “slacktivism” and instead encouraged people to donate and participate in boycotts.
Imagine if every individual who shared the All Eyes on Rafah post shared and donated to the PCRF relief fund. What the Palestinians really need in terms of food, security and help at the borders. Criticism is completely valid for people who ignore boycotts/donations but share AI photos.
-nmm (@niamhmarym) May 28, 2024
To combat this “slacktivism”, people began sharing viable ways to support Gazans – signing petitions, joining demonstrations, etc.
If your friends shared the “All Eyes On Rafah” AI photo and it was the first time they did something during this war, encourage them to go to and take 30 seconds to email your elected representatives:
– Jordan (@JordanUhl) May 29, 2024
Visceral scenes of death and destruction have been the reality for Palestinians since the Israel-Hamas conflict began eight months ago, and it appears unlikely to end anytime soon. Israel announced today that it expects the conflict to continue for another 7 months, until the end of 2024. Amid global protests, student camps and boycotts, social media has become another avenue to express dissent.
This story originally appeared on Ndtv.com read the full story
