Digital witnessing of the Palestine crisis: Perceptions and emotional responses among Turkish university students

The research examines the role of social media in the Palestinian crisis and the process of digital witnessing. The study focuses on social media's role as an information source, perceptions of digital witnessing, and emotional impacts. This study, employed a qualitative descriptive design, drawing on semi-structured interviews with 10 students studying at university. The data obtained were analyzed using thematic analysis method and findings were reported in two main themes compatible with the research questions. In the theme of perceptions of digital witnessing, sub-themes emerged as immediacy and direct witnessing; alternative voices and contested visibility; and public engagement and collective memory. Participants stated that social media provides the opportunity to directly witness and access perspectives beyond mainstream coverage, and engage in shared awareness and remembrance. In the theme of emotional responses to digital witnessing, sub-themes were identified as: empathy, solidarity, and the impulse to act: anger and moral indignation; and helplessness, trauma, and ambivalent affect. Participants expressed that content shared on social media created intense emotional reactions. The research results show that social media plays an important role in digital witnessing in the Palestinian crisis creating emotional impact on university students.