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Israeli bloggers try to counter anti-Israel Russian media bias By Lily Galili Tags: Israel news, Russia, Hamas  In the last few days a newspaper in Russia featured a report that Israel is bombing a Russian city. How did this happen? Instead of writing about the unwillingness of the Bnei Ayish Local Council, most of whose residents are Russian speakers, including the council head, to accept that missiles might be launched at it from Gaza, the paper wrote about Israeli firing on the "Russian city of Bnei Ayish." A few hours later, thanks to the assistance of Russian-speaking Israeli bloggers, a more accurate version of the report was published. When you start from the assumption that the average Russian does not necessarily know where Israel is located and where Gaza is, and that he is fed primarily by the official propaganda in Russia, it is necessary to explain to him the proximity and the danger in launching rockets from Gaza using his own reference points. The bloggers created maps of Moscow and its surrounding suburbs in order to explain to the Russian audience where it would be possible to launch missiles at them and from that conclude how dangerous the rocket threat against Israel is. Advertisement The use of blogs for Israeli information campaigns in Russia started with a basic text posted by Marek Bibichkov, a former advisor to Shimon Peres and Ehud Barak, on his blog in which he offered a simple explanation about the war in Gaza and the reasons for it. 20,000 hits a day indicated a news vacuum existed. "The information office" of the bloggers, most of whom worked for political parties in Israel looking for a way to win the Russian vote, organized spontaneously and operates independently, but receives backing and quiet cooperation from official information agencies that have identified the potential. After a few successful days of blog public relations efforts, the phenomenon is also spreading to other languages, such as English, Belarus and Spanish. Related articles: IDF recommends major, but brief Gaza ground incursion IAF bombs Gaza mosque being used as weapons storehouse Haniyeh: Palestinian victory in Gaza is near 4 rockets hit south as 'special situation' status extended to 40 kilometers from Gaza border Disinformation, secrecy and lies: How the Gaza offensive came about Amira Hass / 'Gaza strike is not against Hamas, it's against all Palestinians' GIDEON LEVY / The IAF, bullies of the clear blue skies Bookmark to del.icio.us   Israelis targeted abroad Gunman opens fire on Israelis working at shopping mall in Denmark. Iran silences dissent Newspaper forcibly shut down after article blaming Hamas for Gaza violence.

Read & React IDF recommends major, but brief Gaza ground offensive Responses: 97 Ari Shavit: Israelis who blame Israel are not helping Palestinians Responses: 94 Roi Ben-Yehuda: Pro-Israel camp would be wise to heed Muslim cries for peace Responses: 39 Israel Harel: Like it did in Lebanon, Israel blinked first in Gaza Responses: 41 Poll: Majority of Israelis support continuing military operations in Gaza Responses: 36 Haniyeh: Palestinian victory in Gaza is near Responses: 70 More Headlines 01:02 IAF bombs Gaza mosque used as terror hub 01:01 Egypt FM: Hamas gave Israel the excuse to launch Gaza attacks 22:23 Livni: Cease-fire in Gaza would grant Hamas legitimacy 23:11 Barrage of Gaza rockets strikes Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva, Ashdod 23:24 Not just air strikes: Israel takes the fight to Arab media 22:44 Danish police arrest Palestinian on suspicion of shooting Israelis at shopping mall 15:02 Israelis who blame Israel are not helping the Palestinians 13:27 Get up to the minute coverage of the warfare in Gaza directly to your email 15:03 Poll: Most Israelis support continuing Gaza military op 15:01 Like in Lebanon, in Gaza Israel blinked first 18:34 Tel Aviv, Rishon Letzion prepare bomb shelters in case of attack 13:57 AMIRA HASS / Thousands of Gazans near Rafah displaced by IAF bombing of tunnels 18:00 12 Palestinians hurt in Gaza fighting being treated in Israeli hopsitals 17:59 Czech FM: Finding Gaza truce is a 'main role' of the EU Previous Editions Select Day 01 jan 31 dec 30 dec 29 dec 28 dec 26 dec 25 dec 24 dec 23 dec 22 dec 21 dec 19 dec

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