Hillary Clinton blames TikTok propaganda for young people’s views on Israel

Hillary Clinton believes misinformation on social media has dangerously shaped young people’s opinions about Israel and Palestine.

While speaking at a summit hosted by right-wing Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom in New York City on Tuesday, the former secretary of state said she was concerned that “intelligent, well-educated young people” are now overwhelmingly getting their news on platforms like TikTok, calling the trend a “serious problem” for democracy.

“Much of the challenge lies with young people. More than 50% of young people in America get their news through social media. So stop on that for a second,” he told the audience.

Focusing on the misinformation and fact-checking problems of many social platforms, he said: “They’re watching short videos, some of them totally made up, some of them not at all representative of what they claim to show, and that’s where they get their information from.”

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The politician said she was particularly concerned about how people receive news about the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“That’s where they found out what happened on October 7, what happened in the days, weeks and months that followed,” he said of Hamas’ surprise attacks on Israel in 2023. “It’s a serious problem for democracy, whether it’s Israel or the United States, and it’s a serious problem for our young people.”

Clinton went on to say that it was “shocking” to learn how little her Columbia University students knew about the “history” behind the occupation.

As he explained, “When you tried to talk to them to have some kind of reasonable discussion, it was very difficult because they didn’t know the history. They had very little context. And what they were told on social media was not just one-sided, it was pure propaganda.”

The former Democratic presidential candidate added that criticism of Israel was not just coming from what she called “the usual suspects” and stated that “many young American Jews” do not “understand” the historical context of the conflict.

While it is difficult to analyze the impact of misinformation on public sentiment, Americans’ opinion of Israel has shown a marked shift since the nation stepped up its attacks on Gaza in retaliation for the October 7 attacks.