War Through the Smartphone Camera Lens : A Visual Analysis of Participative War-footage from the 2023-war in Gaza

Sammanfattning

Abstract: This thesis conducts a visual analysis of participative war-footage from the 2023-war in Gaza. The footage is analyzed through the theoretical lens of “participative war”, with its cornerstones Data, Attention and Control. The participative-war footage is analyzed using the visual methods “compositional interpretation” and “visual discourse analysis”, analyzing the footages’ production, content and circulation. The aim is to deepen and problematize the understanding of connectivity in contemporary warfare, and the usefulness of participative war-footage. While analyzing the production, content and circulation of the footage, the aim is to assess and discuss if it can be utilized for any of the three areas of use: 1: The information domain; 2: Targeting and after-strike assessment; 3: War crime investigations. It has been suggested that citizen journalists engaging in participative war can function as an equalizer in asymmetrical conflicts, and one of the most important findings for this thesis is that, while serious potential exists, there are several aspects to take heed off that make this claim far from clear-cut. Further key-findings state that the most prominent use for the participative war-footage is in the information domain, whereas the use for targeting and after-strike assessment is the most troublesome. It also concludes that the most important bottle-neck is the aspect of control and circulation.