Israel’s military is facing an online backlash after it posted AI-generated images of its operations in the style of Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, a trend that has gone viral in recent days.
The images posted on the military’s official X account on Sunday showed scenes of soldiers under the Israeli flag, the country's navy and air force, with the caption “we thought we’d also hop on the Ghibli trend”.
A backlash soon emerged in the comments below the post, which had attracted 20,000 likes by Wednesday. One user posted an image referencing the war in Gaza, where a large number of civilians are among the more than 50,000 people killed in Israeli military operations against Hamas. That post, which had 57,000 likes, depicted two soldiers pointing weapons at a woman and children amid the ruins of buildings.
Other users posted AI-generated images of Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida, who has become a symbol of the group during the war. Another posted an image of Israeli troops holding up women’s clothing in a ruined building, an apparent reference to mocking social media posts by Israeli troops in which they parade in women’s clothes found during raids on Palestinian homes. One post depicted anti-Semitic tropes.
A pro-Israel user responded to the criticism with an image of soldiers standing beside what appears to be the Western Wall, a symbol in Israel of Zionism’s victory and the country's Jewish identity.
Israel’s military has a significant online presence, including on social media platforms, which is run by a large Spokesperson's Unit that, in part, seeks to counter criticism of the army’s actions.
One comment highlighted the anti-war beliefs of Studio Ghibli’s director and co-founder, Hayao Miyazaki. He refused to travel to the US to receive the Oscar for Best Animated Feature awarded for Spirited Away in 2003 because of his opposition to the Iraq war. Many of the studio’s films contain anti-war messages.
Studio Ghibli did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israel denies targeting civilians in Gaza, accusing the militant groups it is fighting of embedding in local populations. It has nonetheless been accused of committing genocide by a number of human rights organisations, a claim that the International Court of Justice is investigating. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
Comment: Studio Ghibli-inspired AI images are going viral, but here's why they shouldn't
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
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