Noticing their friends doom scrolling to keep up with news on social media about the Israel-Gaza war, Mishelanu created a WhatsApp group devoted to sharing news, Mishelanu co-president Abigail Mor said.
Mishelanu, a club at this university, connects students with Israel. Currently, they work closely with Hillel’s Israel fellow Tamar Leikehmacher. Last week, Leikehmacher held a focus group for students to discuss their issues and concerns amid the war. The group was not formally involved with Mishelanu, but a lot of Mishelanu members attended, Mor said.
“Doom scrolling was one of the biggest concerns that continuously came up,” Mor said.
Many Jewish students have a hard time going on social media because they “get trapped under posts.” In an effort to give students credible, important and relevant news regarding the war, Mishelanu created the WhatsApp group called the UMD Students’ Israel News Room.
“I needed to know every detail, every name, every story. It took so much time and energy out of my day, and all it left me with was a bad mood,” Mishelanu leader and WhatsApp group administrator Alex Mullin said.
Various Israeli newsrooms are resorting to “hasbarah,” which means “explaining,” in a lot of their coverage of the war, Mor said. Mishelanu wants the group chat to provide “hasbarah” to students at this university.
Leaders of the WhatsApp group including Abigail Mor, Einav Tzach, Erez Keler and Alex Mullin, send a daily message with important updates from the day. In an effort to remain credible, the group mainly pulls news from Channel 12 News and the Israeli Defense Forces spokespeople. Sources will be included below the news, Mor said.
“We don’t want to overload students with so much information at once,” Mor said. “We want them to have the peace of mind that they know what’s going on without doomscrolling on social media.”
While scrolling, Jewish students may feel hurt and affected by the news, Mor said. It hurts to look at some of it, especially for Mor a proud Israeli-American.
“It’s a little bit of a mismatch” between the news portrayed on certain outlets and some Jewish students’ feelings regarding the war. The WhatsApp group offers a more personable Jewish touch to the news, so some Jewish students feel better represented and validated, Mor said.
On social media, especially, students see disinformation, misinformation and biased news. This type of news quickly spreads, Mor said. People may repost what they believe to be an activist’s post, while accidentally spreading false facts. Students and journalists, in general, have a reason to be wary of social media right now, she said.
“We want to provide information that comes from educated people who know what they’re talking about,” Mor said. “It can be really harmful when uneducated people and news stations share false information.”
This project is completely student-run, and it is something of an outlet for the leaders as well, Mor said. The leaders hope to promote a more understanding and informed Jewish student body who have enough valuable information without being overwhelmed.
The UMD Students’ Israel News Room is open to feedback, Mor said.
“We can all process the news we’re getting together,” Mor said. “We don’t have to be alone in that, and we shouldn’t be.”
