Atrocity propaganda · 2023 · Israel, US

Unconfirmed 7 October atrocity claims

The 7 October 2023 attack was real: about 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians, and the victims included children. This case covers only specific claims that were never confirmed, chiefly that babies were found beheaded at Kfar Aza. They began with a reporter's account of soldiers' testimony, were repeated by a prime minister's spokesperson and an IDF spokesperson, and reached President Biden. Some Israeli officials then said they could not confirm them, while the official Israel account went on promoting a narrower claim of one beheaded baby that was not independently confirmed.

Black-and-white photograph of President Joe Biden writing at the Resolute desk in the Oval Office.
President Biden reviewing remarks on the attacks in Israel in the Oval Office, 10 October 2023. The next day he said he had seen confirmed pictures of beheaded children; the White House then said he had not. Credit: The White House, via Wikimedia Commons. License: Public domain.
Run by
Israel
Prime Minister's spokesperson, IDF spokesperson and the government's official X account repeated or carried the claims
The figure in the claim
40 babies
Reported from Kfar Aza on 10 October 2023; never confirmed
Repeated the claim publicly
1 president
Biden said on 11 October he had seen confirmed pictures of beheaded children; the White House then said he had not
Time to exposure
1 day
To the first Israeli statements that the claim could not be confirmed (from some officials), 11-12 October 2023

Timeline

  1. 7 Oct 2023 · Context

    Hamas-led fighters attack southern Israel. Israel's foreign ministry later puts the toll at about 1,200 dead; the count is documented by name, and includes children.

  2. 10 Oct 2023 · It worked

    i24NEWS reporter Nicole Zedeck, at Kfar Aza, says soldiers told her they found babies with their heads cut off, and writes that they "believe 40 babies/children were killed". The Israeli government's official X account posts her video captioned "40 babies murdered."

  3. 11 Oct 2023 · It worked

    A spokesperson for Prime Minister Netanyahu, Tal Heinrich, repeats that babies and toddlers were found with their heads cut off. An IDF spokesperson, Maj. Libby Weiss, tells CBS that more than one soldier reported finding beheaded children.

  4. 11 Oct 2023 · It worked

    President Biden tells Jewish community leaders: "I never really thought that I would see, have confirmed, pictures of terrorists beheading children."

  5. 11-12 Oct 2023 · Exposed

    Other IDF spokespeople say they have no details or confirmation. The White House says "US officials and the president have not seen pictures or confirmed such reports independently," and that his remarks rested on Israeli claims and media reports. CNN's Sara Sidner apologizes for repeating the claim unchecked.

  6. 4 Dec 2023 · Exposed

    Haaretz reports that Hamas committed documented atrocities but that some widely repeated claims were false or unverified; it confirms one baby killed at Be'eri.

  7. 3 Apr 2024 · Exposed

    Le Monde traces the beheaded-babies story to a press tour at Kfar Aza hours after the battle and finds no evidence for it; the kibbutz's own list of dead has a youngest victim aged 14.

The claim reached a US president within a day; the first official "cannot confirm" came within two.

“US officials and the president have not seen pictures or confirmed such reports independently.”

White House clarification, 11-12 October 2023 (as reported by Al Jazeera)

The playbook

  1. 1

    Unverifiable victim

    The victims were unnamed babies, and the only source was soldiers' testimony relayed by a reporter, so nobody could check the claim at the time.

  2. 2

    Borrowed authority

    The Israeli government's official account and a prime minister's spokesperson gave an unconfirmed report the weight of an official statement.

  3. 3

    Trusted repeaters

    An IDF spokesperson, outlets such as CBS and CNN, and then the US president repeated it as established.

  4. 4

    Win before the facts

    The claim shaped the first days of coverage, and Biden repeated it, before verification and before officials said they could not confirm it.

Through the FATE framework

  • Focus6/10

    A single image, beheaded infants, dominated early coverage of a massacre that was already documented.

  • Authority7/10

    Government accounts, an IDF spokesperson and a US president lent the claim official weight.

  • Tribe6/10

    The claim cast Hamas fighters as inhuman and tied to comparisons with ISIS.

  • Emotion9/10

    Dead infants are among the strongest emotional triggers; this is why the claim travelled.

Propaganda techniques used

Same playbook today

The same playbook can be run by anyone, on any side. We list every current PSYOP that matches Unconfirmed 7 October atrocity claims, whoever is behind it.

No live PSYOP we track matches this playbook right now. When one does, it will appear here.