Media and Uncertainty| In One Hand, a Camera, and in the Other, a Gun: State Adoption of Visual Activist Strategies for Narrative Legitimacy

Abstract

This article examines how states adopt visual activist strategies to promote and legitimize their own narratives in today’s digital environment. Specifically, it tackles the work of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Documentary-Combat squad, a new unit that trains soldiers in strategic image-making. Based on a qualitative analysis of ten interviews with former members of this squad, this article contends that the IDF uses social media as a key platform to circulate its images to maintain its sense of ontological security.