The War in Gaza Is Nearly Two Years Old and Social Media Is Piling Up Against Israel

After the initial Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 — the killing of nearly 1,200 people and the abduction of approximately 250 hostages — social media support for Israel was abundant. Political leaders and celebrities issued statements of solidarity, and Rolli IQ's analysis of October 7 and 8, 2023, shows Israel was top of mind for millions. Importantly, Rolli IQ analysis showed no suspicious patterns that might indicate bot posting or coordinated campaigns at that time — the support was organic.

Approaching two years into the war, having been saturated with images and stories of civilian suffering in Gaza, social media posting has turned decisively against Israel. A Rolli IQ analysis covering the last month shows one of the most negative sentiment scores the system has ever produced. The Rolli IQ AI summary of current post language features terms like 'genocide,' 'atrocities,' and 'starvation' as dominant framings — language that was absent from the October 2023 conversation. These accusations of war crimes are common enough to earn their own Topic Tree categories, with subcategories including 'Genocide accusations' and 'War crimes.'

The Sentiment Map comparison between October 2023 and September 2025 is perhaps the starkest visualization in this analysis. The 2023 map shows balanced negative and positive lines — the negative sentiment being primarily directed at Hamas rather than Israel, meaning much of it was effectively pro-Israel in character. The 2025 map is almost entirely red lines leading outward from a central cluster, with only isolated green lines representing support. Rolli IQ describes this as one of the most lopsided sentiment maps it has ever produced. Even posts categorized as 'Support for Palestine' generate their green lines through condemnation of Israel's actions rather than positive characterization of Palestinian governance.

“Rolli IQ compared October 2023 — when social media backed Israel after the Hamas attacks — to September 2025. The revers…”

The shift documents the long-term information dynamics of a sustained conflict: the initial emotional clarity of the attack framing — sympathetic victims of unprovoked violence — eroded over twenty-four months of documented civilian casualties, infrastructure destruction, and famine conditions. Israel's argument that it is justifiably targeting Hamas has not penetrated at scale on social media, while the counter-narrative of disproportionate civilian harm has saturated the conversation across all platforms. For communications teams advising governments or NGOs engaged with the conflict, the analysis represents a significant data point: the gap between official justifications and public perception has widened to a level that standard strategic communication cannot bridge without addressing the underlying humanitarian narrative directly.