Capetonians march in solidarity with Palestinians in Sea Point. Photographer Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers
By Khadija Dadoo
Johannesburg – Bassem Youseff is the Palestine solidarity activist TikTok didn’t know it needed, writes Khadija Dadoo
Social media activism has been largely mocked, especially by older, serious activists.
From posting a black square on Instagram during Black Lives Matter to “I stand with Palestine” profile pics, there’s always been questions if social media was doing anything substantial.
However, social media apps allow for an unprecedented global and generational reach.
The 2020 Covid pandemic cemented TikTok, in particular, as a serious social media player.
Previously called a “dancing app”, TikTok has helped educate its 1 billion daily users on issues ranging from climate change, to raising awareness for many humanitarian and political crises across the world that are generally ignored by mainstream media.
Going viral on TikTok is fairly simple. TikTok works with an algorithm that picks specific sounds and hashtags to push out on to everyone’s For You (FY) page. Those sounds can be anything – including music, everyday sounds or soundbites from movies, songs or interviews.
A viral sound is created when many people use this sound or soundbite as a background or they lip-sync to it in their own videos thus increasing the amount of views and the spread of the message.
Egyptian comedian and satirist, Bassem Youseff’s, recent interview about the ongoing Israeli bombing of Gaza with British journalist, Piers Morgan, is a good example of a viral soundbite. Youseff helped keep viewers engaged during his interview on 18 October and his use of dark humour and biting satire eased the discussion on this tense issue.
Since then, many of Youseff’s fast and witty replies to Morgan have been used by TikTok users in their posts. Some of those posts have gone viral, with many of the clips reaching over a million views - spreading the interview far beyond its intended audience.
One of the most-used soundbites from the interview was Youseff comparing Israel to a narcissistic psychopath. “Israel is like being in a relationship with a narcissistic psychopath, he f**** you over and then blame you.”
Youseff’s choice of words and the significance of this comparison resonate strongly with Generation Z’s on TikTok. Discussions on narcissistic exes are quite common and a quick scroll through the FY page will reveal many narcissistic psychopath stories. So you can see why this comparison cut so deeply with young adults - many of whom have a narcissistic ex story of their own to share.
At the time of writing, Youseff’s interview with Morgan had been viewed 20 million times on Youtube. But it’s on TikTok, where his impact can really be felt: the sound of him comparing Israel to a narcissistic psychopath was used in over 7000 videos.
Tiktok works in 2 ways: you can either have a viral video or a viral sound. Bassem Youseff has achieved both.
For the average young person, Israel’s occupation of Palestine is an old person’s problem. The constant stream of dates, United Nations resolutions, laws, statistics and serious interviews with politicians and academics made it difficult for us to understand and digest.
However, Bassem Youseff’s interview armed young people like me with information that I would not have found as easily, in explanations that made sense to me – on a medium that I’m comfortable with.
“Israel thinks they are Superman but they are really Homelander.” With this iconic pop culture reference, Youseff also highlighted the impact of Israeli propaganda and how easily Israel has been manipulating us into believing they are the sole victims, when they are, in fact, occupying Palestinians.
Homelander is a superhero who was created to be patriotic but ends but harming the citizens of his own town. In those ten words, Youseff grabs the attention of young people and destroys Israel’s carefully-crafted image that it’s a beacon of democracy and freedom in the Middle East.
Youseff also didn’t hold back when it came to reminding Piers Morgan of the role he played in spreading disinformation about Hamas fighters decapitating 40 babies. Morgan denied it but the internet came with receipts of Morgan stating the widely-debunked claim as fact during an interview with actress Joan Collins.
Youseff also mentioned his wife is Palestinian and compared Palestinians to cockroaches that you try to kill but they just don’t die. This month’s bombing of Gaza is not the first time that Israel has carried out such brutal attacks on the Palestinian people. Since 1948, Palestinians have been resisting Israeli occupation. So, Youseff’s startling statement is actually a homage to Palestinian sumud or steadfastness.
Youseff’s interview can be seen and felt outside of the TikTok streets, and has been translated into real-life solidarity actions as young people across the world took to the street holding up signs with Bassem’s iconic soundbites from the interview.
The brutal truths emanating from Youseff’s interview has also inspired other influencers to post about what is happening in Palestine. These are influencers whose content typically revolves around fashion, soccer-moming, and celebrities. They are now using the audiences they’ve already built up to spread the message of a free Palestine.
Watching the destruction of Gaza on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram can be difficult. I fight the urge to look away, but I know I can’t. The least I can do is to bear witness to the suffering of the Palestinian people, and spread that message. In the age of social media, this is the least we can do. Social media activism? Yes, it is real, and it’s having a meaningful impact.
Khadija Dadoo is a first year psychology student at Unisa.