Agitprop (noun)
Political strategy in which techniques of agitation and propaganda are used to influence public opinion. Originally described by the Marxist theorist Georgy Plekhanov and then by Vladimir Ilich Lenin, it called for both emotional and reasoned arguments. The term, a shortened form for the Agitation and Propaganda Section of the Communist Party in the former Soviet Union, has been used in English, typically with a negative connotation, to describe any work—especially in drama and other art forms—that aims to indoctrinate the public and achieve political goals.
Agitprop works, unless it’s easily refutable.
Today, Hamas media showed these two images of what they claim is an Israeli F-16I targeted by Hamas.
It’s fake.
This specific fighter, “Sufa 489” was damaged in 2006.
During the Second Lebanon War, Sufa 489 started a takeoff run prior to a strike mission in Lebanon. A tire burst during takeoff. The team jettisoned the ordnance on the runway and ejected from the plane safely. The plane was written off, given the heavy fire damage. In 2010, members of the Ramon AFB ground crew turned the aircraft frame into a rescue simulator for pilots stuck in the cockpit.
The inquiry commission found that the plane was fitted with Barak (F-16 C/D) tires that do not fit the Sufa.
Here is an image of the wrecked aircraft being hoisted by a crane after the accident. Note the number 489, and the matching damage:
During Operation Pillar of Cloud, Hamas also claimed they shot down an F-16, which turned out to be an external fuel tank dumped in the sea.
Also, they have claimed twice in the past couple of weeks that they hit an Israeli fighter (they didn’t), so hence the lame attempt at agitprop directed at their own people.
