After watching The Hidden War, you may have asked yourself: how could simply messages or short tweets have such a deep impact?

The answer lies in what psychologists’ call “windows of psychological influence” moments when individuals become more susceptible to suggestion, driven by emotions like fear, helplessness, or anxiety. During the aggression, the Israeli media expertly exploited these windows to infiltrate the consciousness of the Lebanese people, planting distorted, demoralizing ideas that eroded trust and blurred reality, without firing a single bullet
In those moments, neurological and behavioral mechanisms in our brains make us more receptive to messages that feel comforting or offer psyc​hological relief, even if they are misleading.

Media plays a central role in shaping public opinion, capitalizing on human emotions such as fear, anger, and despair as effective tools to provoke audience engagement and steer public attitudes on specific issues. From this perspective, Israeli media employs a range of tactics aimed at reinforcing fear and hopelessness among the Lebanese population. These strategies span from spreading alarming news and exaggerating security threats to disseminating messages designed to undermine confidence in national capabilities. Such tactics do not only impact individuals on a personal level; they also affect social cohesion and influence political stances within the broader community.  

Although Israeli media tactics are not vastly different from those employed by outlets around the world, what sets them apart is the level of expertise and resources at their disposal. Israeli media deliberately targets specific social segments and draws upon psychological and sociological research to guide its approach making it more effective in instilling feelings of fear and despair.  

The issue is approached as part of an orchestrated psychological warfare campaign, in which the media functions as a direct mouthpiece for security and military agencies. It operates in close coordination with both political and security leadership to broadcast carefully crafted messages. These strategies manipulate deep human emotions, making individuals more susceptible to such news and information precisely because it resonates with their sense of identity and belonging.  

These messages tap into primal instincts such as a father’s urge to protect his children, a mother’s embrace of her young, or the decisions of a leader striving to adapt to evolving circumstances. When such emotions, especially panic, take hold, they weaken both individual and collective capacity for logical thinking and sound decision-making. The result is mental disorientation, insomnia, and lack of focus, all of which hinder the ability to remain attentive and persist in facing challenges with clarity and awareness.  

In the context of intense media warfare, pressing questions arise about the long-term psychological effects such experiences may have on societies. To what extent can these campaigns shape patterns of collective thinking and reinforce feelings of tension and division within the social fabric?

In today’s world, societies face growing challenges linked to the overwhelming flow of information and the rapid spread of news making the reinforcement of psychological and intellectual resilience an indispensable necessity.

A range of factors plays a vital role in strengthening individuals’ ability to confront negative news and ideas chief among them is psychological resilience, which serves as the cornerstone for enduring pressure and adapting to rapid change.

In addition, positive fear, which stems from a genuine awareness of risks, plays an important role by motivating effective preventive action. This stands in contrast to negative anxiety, which often arises from a lack of information and serves to weaken individuals’ psychological immunity and scatter their ability to respond effectively to crises.

  In this context, media literacy stands as the foremost and most effective entry point for building collective immunity against misinformation. It equips individuals with critical thinking skills that enable them to analyze media content, verify news sources and assess credibility thereby weakening the impact of so-called “yellow journalism,” which often conveys its toxic messages under the guise of partially accurate information or misleading historical context.

However, strengthening societal immunity does not end with individuality requires a comprehensive vision for collective empowerment and capability-building. Resilient communities are built through collaboration among experts across various fields: media, technology, education, public policy, and even everyday users. The integration of expertise and inclusive cooperation with all segments of society helps shift awareness from an elite discourse to a public one, transforming the ordinary individual from a passive recipient into an active participant in the battle for awareness.

This integration also contributes to strengthening individuals’ self-awareness, enabling them to better understand their emotions and positions, and to make more informed decisions. Moreover, social support plays a crucial role in empowering communities. Solidarity and mutual aid during times of crisis serve as a powerful testament to the strength of collective will in confronting efforts to fragment and distract especially those arising from the negative use of technology or its exploitation to undermine social bonds.  

From this perspective, protecting societies from media attacks or psychological crises cannot be achieved without establishing a cultural and cognitive foundation one that begins with media literacy and is built upon integrated psychological, intellectual, and social principles. Such a foundation transforms everyone into a conscious line of defense, and every group into a tightly woven fabric that cannot be easily penetrated.