Fabricated immigrant stories and quotes along with stock images of people were posted on Twitter by the Israeli Immigrant Integration Ministry to encourage Jews to relocate to the Jewish state.
An investigation undertaken by the Times of Israel failed to find any of the supposed immigrants quoted on its social media accounts.
Following an inquiry, many of the fake posts – using the now-defunct hashtag AliyahStory – encouraging Jews to make “aliyah” – the move to Israel – were deleted and the ministry confirmed yesterday that all of the people quoted were made up.
Hey Tanya are you real? Do you exist? Please share more details of your #AliyahStory. https://t.co/GTmEaZdXgf
— Craig (@Craig_543) October 31, 2019
Israeli news outlet Arutz Sheva noted that in one case, it confirmed that the image was a real person, who was not an immigrant and never made the quote attributed to him.
According to the ministry’s Twitter feed, a Tanya Lipworth from Chicago could never imagine that she would fulfill the Zionist dream and make “Aliyah a reality”.
However, there is no record on the internet of a Tanya Lipworth existing.
Another alleged immigrant, Misrad Haklita was quoted saying: “Modern technology has made it easier to keep in touch! We love our Friday FaceTime!”
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Find out more here: https://t.co/alQmTZHWco pic.twitter.com/p8lI31bM3c
— Misrad Haklita (@MisradHaklita) October 27, 2019
According to The Times of Israel, most of the names do appear on Facebook but do not appear to belong to anyone living in Israel.
Jason Pearlman, a former spokesman for Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, said: “If it is the case that this is a genuine ministry account, and the photos and names are fabricated, it is nothing short of horrendous.”
“To use stock images to illustrate classrooms or meetings is one thing, but at a time when Israel’s credibility is constantly attacked on social media, to make people up is nothing short of idiotic.”
An investigation has found #Israel's government posted stock images of people on @Twitter and made up fake immigrant stories about them with fabricated quotes. #Aliyahhttps://t.co/8KitaD5fl6
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) November 1, 2019
Israel has made a lot of effort to persuade Jews from Europe and the US to migrate in order to maintain the demographic superiority of Jewish citizens in the state.
Although 20 percent of the Israeli population are Palestinians, Israel has consistently denied those who were ethnically cleansed from Palestine since 1948, along with their descendants, their legal right of return to their homeland.
(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)
