Entertainment network Pop Base boasts at least 1.3 million followers across its social media platforms — from X to Instagram.
As Israel went to war against Hamas following a large-scale invasion from across the Gaza border in which terrorists slaughtered civilians and took others hostage, Pop Base began mounting a subtle — yet insidious — campaign against the Jewish state.
On October 7 — just hours after the Jewish state was first attacked — Pop Base reported that acclaimed Hollywood actress Jamie Lee Curtis had shown her “support for Israel amid the current escalation between Israel and Palestine” alongside a screengrab of Curtis’ Instagram post of an Israeli flag.
Jamie Lee Curtis shows support for Israel amid the current escalation between Israel and Palestine. pic.twitter.com/etM5x68onR
— Pop Base (@PopBase) October 7, 2023
Less than 24 hours later, Pop Base posted a further two messages that related to celebrity support for Israel following the brutal and unprovoked murder sprees perpetrated by Hamas:
Kylie Jenner has deleted an Instagram story showing support to Israel. pic.twitter.com/BVSlla41Rk
— Pop Base (@PopBase) October 7, 2023
Zara Larsson via Instagram:
“Oh so it’s stand with Ukraine when Russia invades but not Palesti-” pic.twitter.com/HRCBgiFgcN
— Pop Base (@PopBase) October 8, 2023
On October 11, Pop Base again made reference to the Hamas-perpetrated atrocities — this time posting a statement from model Gigi Hadid, who has previously been a vocal critic of Israel and condemned the massacre in Israel’s south, stating: “I also feel a responsibility to my Jewish friends to make it clear, as I have before: While I have hopes and dreams for Palestinians, none of them include the harm of a Jewish person.”
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It’s understated, but it is crafty and effective.
Pop Base does not make a direct comment on recent events but uses its considerable reach to push anti-Israel messaging, including by failing to remove comments from accounts that leave both antisemitic and pro-Hamas beneath its posts.
In fact, Pop Base has even posted explicitly anti-Israel content on its feeds.
During the May 2021 war, which was sparked by Hamas firing a salvo of rockets at Jerusalem, the platform posted several graphics and “stories” that had nothing to do with pop culture and instead spread disinformation about Israel.
One such graphic was of the widely-debunked maps that supposedly showed “Palestinian land loss” since the Jewish state was founded in 1948.
More resources to educate yourself and spread awareness on the situation in Palestine: pic.twitter.com/qldCv1Mjc2
— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 15, 2021
Information on the current situation in Palestine and ways we can help & spread awareness: pic.twitter.com/p1XVIpTcyi
— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 10, 2021
Pop Base has also been doing this since before the current conflagration erupted.
For example, when American singer Demi Lovato visited the Jewish state in 2019, Pop Base amplified the false story that she had been paid “$150,000 to visit Israel and praise the country.”
Yet, it was later revealed that Lovato had been inspired to take part in the trip because she had conducted a DNA test and found she had “significant Jewish ancestry” and was “interested to learn more.” The Israeli government contributed $50,000 toward the cost of the trip but Lovato was not paid money directly.
In another post from April last year, Pop Base reported that Bella Hadid (Gigi Hadid’s sister) had claimed her Instagram account was “limited” because “she posts about the Free Palestine movement.”
Bella Hadid says that Instagram has been limiting her account and DMs when she posts about the Free Palestine movement.
“When I post about Palestine I get immediately shadowbanned…” pic.twitter.com/untAUPH4rr
— Pop Base (@PopBase) April 17, 2022
First, Hadid has done considerably more than promote the “Free Palestine movement,” such as when she was filmed at a march during the May 2021 Hamas war against Israel chanting the slogan “from the river to the sea,” which is used by terror groups as a rallying call to destroy the Jewish state.
Second, Pop Base used its huge platform to magnify Hadid’s claim without checking its veracity. If it had, it would know that the then-CEO of Instagram had denied accounts are “shadow banned” whereby the reach of certain content is limited.
Pop Base is just one of the many platforms that are capitalizing on the current war against the Jewish state by terrorists sworn to its destruction.
It is part of a larger, nefarious wave of anti-Israel messaging that is sweeping social media and must be exposed for what it is — a campaign of hatred to demonize the world’s only Jewish state.
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