Managing Visibility Under Constraint: Telegram, TikTok, and the Platformization of Wartime Messaging (2023–24)

This study examines the use of digital platforms by a non-state actor during the October 2023–January 2024 war in Gaza, analyzing 369 media outputs produced over a 100-day period. Using a mixed-methods design that combines quantitative content analysis with qualitative thematic coding, the study maps how platform-specific affordances shaped content formats, distribution patterns, and audience targeting across different phases of the conflict. The findings show a consistent reliance on short-form video, particularly on Telegram and TikTok, alongside platform-specific messaging strategies for domestic, adversarial, and international audiences. From a media-management perspective, the analysis highlights how digital platforms functioned as distribution infrastructures, allowing communication activities to scale under conditions of material and regulatory constraint. Rather than evaluating the political claims advanced in the messages themselves, the study focuses on organizational logics, platform strategies, and attention economies that structured wartime visibility. The article contributes to scholarship on platform governance, strategic communication, and the political economy of digital media in conflict settings.