Social media drums up misinformation by the misinformed

In a May 10 interview on “60 Minutes,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu complained bitterly about social media: “We have seen the deterioration of the support for Israel in the United States almost—I would say, it correlates almost 100 percent with the geometric rise of social media.” A key function of this trend is the way critics of Israel use—and often misuse—celebrities. Let’s look at one example.

Last month, memes began appearing all over social media with a quote from actor Richard Gere: “There’s no defense of this occupation. Settlements are such an absurd provocation .”

The pr...