Both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have turned to social media to spread propaganda and win the war of spin online, according to a report from CQ Weekly. The Israeli Defense Forces Twitter account has been steadily pumping out updates to its followers since the violence began Nov. 14, posting justifications for the assault in an attempt to avoid the bad online publicity that followed Israel's 2008 campaign in the Gaza strip. Gaza sympathizers are also using social media to try and build support for their cause, prompting some House Republicans to call for the Twitter accounts of Hamas and other groups to be taken down.
The deployment of social media to build support for an ongoing military campaign is trend to watch, as the Internet is generally more hospitable to anti-war criticism than the traditional media. Mainstream media coverage in the United States that is critical of Israel remains somewhat uncommon, but support for Gaza is more visible online. As consumers increasingly turn to social networks and the Web for the prevailing news and opinions of the day, the traditional structures that audit the news for public consumption have been stripped away. As a result, institutions like the military must be much more aggressive about marketing their message to the public.
Without a war correspondent or media company filtering the news to select what is appropriate for public consumption, reports on military actions increasingly depict civilian casualties and graphic depictions of the violence on both sides. Countries wishing to counteract such images will have to be vigilant about pushing out their side of the story on the Web.
Schumer Praises Post-Sandy Wireless Review: In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., praised the FCC last week for choosing to hold field hearings on how the nation's wireless network can better prepare for future disasters. Schumer called for the agency to develop a national plan to prevent widespread outages like those experienced on the East Coast after Sandy, which knocked out a quarter of the cell towers in affected areas. Roughly a third of consumers rely solely on wireless phones and have no landline.The hearings will be held in areas affected by the national disasters, starting with New York. The Commission has released dozens of questions it will explore, including an exploration of the back-up power practices used by the communications industry. The resiliency of the nation's communications network, particularly wireless and broadband communications, will likely become a focal point going forward as the landline phone system continues to die out.
House to Vote on FEMA EAS Bill: The House is expected to vote Tuesday on a bill (HR 3563) that would authorize $67 million to modernize the Federal Emergency Management Agency's emergency alerting system. The bill from Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., would instruct FEMA to incorporate new technologies such as text messages into its alert system. Republican Rep. Jeff Denham of Florida and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine have introduced similar bills this Congress; Bilirakis' bill is expected to clear the House and head to the Senate for a vote. CIA to Spend More on Drones: The Obama administration's five-year budget plan will expand the CIA's secret budget for drones and other combat operations, according to a report from CQ Roll Call's John M. Donnelly. While the agency will receive fewer funds from war appropriations, its base budget will increase with a growing emphasis on unconventional military operations. The agency is reportedly looking to increase its fleet by 30 drones, while shifting its focus to North Africa. However, the intelligence agencies are looking to cut spending on information technology by 25 percent, largely via a shift to cloud computing. On The Move: The tech trade group TechAmerica has picked up two new lobbyists to help its members boost their business with the federal government. Pam Walker is TechAmerica's new senior director of homeland security and previously served as director of government affairs for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. Erica McCann joined the group as manager of procurement policy after working as marketing manager for Compusearch Software Systems, a small federal contractor. House Will Try Again On STEM Visas: House Republicans will try for a second time to pass legislation that would increase the number of green cards available to foreign graduates of American universities that earn graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. The legislation (HR 6429) is a modified version of the bill (HR 6249) that failed under suspension of the rules in September. The bill would still abolish the diversity lottery program and re-allocate those 55,000 visas to STEM graduates, but would also make it easier for spouses and children of green card holders to move to the United States while they wait for their green cards. The change is designed to appeal to Democrats, who prefer to preserve the lottery program and to address immigration via a single comprehensive bill. Democrats Hold Briefing on Verizon Arguments: Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a briefing on Wednesday afternoon to examine the constitutional arguments offered by Verizon in its legal challenge to the FCC's Open Internet Order. Verizon is arguing that broadband providers' decisions over what to transmit online is tantamount to speech, and therefore protected by the First Amendment. The lawmakers, which include California Reps. Henry Waxman and Anna Eshoo, strongly supported the FCC's net neutrality rules. The tone of the briefing is likely to reflect its title: "Should Telecom Companies Edit the Internet?" Odds & Ends: BlastRoots uses social media to fund lobbying in the public interest, Oracle joins the Business Software Alliance NYT: Courts Across the Country Divided Over Warrantless Cell Phone Searches