THE RESISTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVISTS IN THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ON INSTAGRAM TOWARDS ISRAEL'S OCCUPATION IN PALESTINE

The ongoing occupation and injustice carried out by Israel, which has been experienced by the Palestinians for 74 years, has resulted in numerous resistance efforts. Aware of this, the sense of solidarity of individuals and activists across the globe has increased. This study aims to analyze the opinions, experiences, and efforts of social media activists, vocal individuals about the Palestinian cause on Instagram, and an expert on Middle East regarding freedom of expression and human rights. Moreover, this study uses a qualitative approach with a phenomenological approach along with primary data (in-depth interview) and secondary data. Given the large number individuals from the United States of America, Canada, Jordan, Indonesia, Palestine, United Arab Emirates, and Germany. The findings of this research contribute to the understanding of the Palestinian cause through the perspective of communication sciences, specifically on social media in terms of their resistance efforts or struggle on Instagram. This study found that, in spite of Instagram being able to facilitate a platform to voice out about Palestine, activists and individuals are being curtailed and censored. Based on these findings, further research can be continued to analyze other aspects of the Palestinian struggle, such as the efforts of the authorities through diplomatic aspects.