"All eyes on Rafah" deepfake criticised for "sanitising" Gaza invasion

“All Eyes on Rafah”, an AI-generated image that went viral online, prompted accusations of "sanitisation" of the Israel-Hamas war and "slacktivism".

The fake image depicts tent camps for displaced Palestinians stretching out into the horizon, overlaid with the phrase "All Eyes on Rafah". The phrase was originally used by World Health Organization representative Dr. Richard “Rik” Peeperkorn.

Apparently created by Malaysian Instagram user @shahv4012, the image was shared more than 47 million times online, including by celebrities Dua Lipa, Lewis Hamilton, and Gigi and Bella Hadid.

However, the image received criticism for “sanitising” the reality of the situation in Gaza. Critics, including actress Rachel Zegler, argue that the AI-generated image does not reflect the actual horrors faced by the Palestinian people. 

They expressed concern that the image has become a “trendy” and "slacktivist "way to show support for the cause, despite the availability of real content from Gazans and journalists showing the reality on the ground.

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• https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-05-30/all-eyes-on-rafah-viral-ai-image-gaza-war

• https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/30/all-eyes-on-rafah-how-ai-generated-image-spread-across-social-media

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjkkj5jejleo

• https://theconversation.com/why-all-eyes-on-rafah-went-viral-and-why-you-need-to-be-careful-when-sharing-ai-images-231412

• https://www.npr.org/2024/06/02/g-s1-2455/all-eyes-on-rafah-most-viral-ai-meme-malaysia-artists-claim-credit

• https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/29/what-is-all-eyes-on-rafah-decoding-the-latest-viral-social-trend