This is Peter. He likes to stay informed. He keeps up to date on the news from multiple sources. He’ll even pick up a book now and then. Peter thinks he’s on top of current affairs, but even Peter is confused by all the wars in the Middle East.
“A ceasefire! Oh my god, that’s great! Palestine’s free, it’s finally free!” says Peter reacting to the news of the ceasefire in Lebanon. When Peter’s friend, Naael, asks what’s happened, Peter incorrectly summarises: “They just announced a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas! The war is over!”
Peter then settles down to read beyond the headline. Peter quickly realizes he was wrong but doesn’t have the heart to correct himself to Naael. Naael then goes out into the world and spreads the good (fake) news.
Naael tells three of her friends about the ceasefire, those friends tell three of their friends, and within just a matter of hours, thousands of people believe the Israel-Palestine war has ended.
Thousands take to the streets to celebrate and the jubilations continue late into the night. Bystanders see the party and assume a ceasefire has occurred in Gaza, they can’t all be wrong, surely? And so the story spreads. Further, further, deeper and deeper, seeping into the minds of millions.
At last, this one great game of telephone comes to the desk of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. He opens the intelligence report detailing the news of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine. Bibi is confused. He does not remember signing such a ceasefire. He did sign one the other day, but that was with someone else…
Hmm. He has been fighting a lot of wars on a lot of fronts lately, it’s hard to keep them all straight. It definitely began with an ‘H’, Hamas? Hummus? Hezbollah? Hong Kong? It’s all very confusing. Maybe he did sign a ceasefire then. If everyone’s saying he did, then he must have done so. They can’t all be wrong…
Alright, says Bibi, hold the rockets, land the planes, fall back. The war is over.
Congratulations Peter, you were right all along.
