PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The Israel-Hamas War is a complex issue for someone to wrap their head around.
It becomes even more challenging when misinformation spreads all over social media.
From the very beginning of the war on Saturday, social media was battered with misinformation on all platforms.
And experts say it can add fuel to the fire.
There's a famous quote that reads, "The first thing we lose in wars is not lives, but information."
Social media has been proving it true this week.
Experts say people need to recognize this misinformation and avoid sharing unreliable posts. To do this, they say people need to check their source before sharing.
Ask yourself: is this person reputable, and what is their level of knowledge on the subject to be able to make these claims?
Next, authorities say to check what platform someone is posting on. Is this a platform with known biases? And could that influence the claim they're sharing?
But experts say the safest thing is to not share or post anything.
If you don't have verification that what you're posting or sharing is true, it's better to step back and wait--instead of continuing to spread information and images that may not be accurate.
"I found an inverse relationship between the confidence with which someone speaks or voices their opinion and their actual knowledge and understanding of a conflict," said Yael Warshel, professor of communications at Pennsylvania State University. "There's a lot of grey areas, and I think it's about being humble as much as you can to recognize there's no way we can know everything. It's just not cognitively possible."
Warshel said she is hoping for a resolution for both Israel and Palestine. But she said people shouldn't be so quick to pick sides.
She said people feel more inclined to voice their opinions about everything--even with no knowledge of the subject. Experts say this may seem like it's helping, but it can add more anger and tension to a conflict that is already intense.
They recommend that unless you are knowledgeable enough on the situation and have ties to the conflict, it is better to sit this one out and listen to those that do on both sides.