SHAH ALAM - US President Joe Biden posted a photo of himself with laser-red eyes on his personal X and Instagram accounts following the Kansas City Chiefs' victory in Super Bowl LIX.
Biden posted a photo of himself against a dark background with bright red laser beams coming from his eyes and a prominent United States flag brooch on his lapel, along with the comment, "Just like we drew it up."
The image, which quickly went viral, sparked a range of reactions online.
Some social media users specifically slammed Biden for the image in light of Israel's brutal assault on Gaza, which has claimed thousands of lives and enjoys the support of the US as the image itself evoked a sense of villainous intrigue reminiscent of Cyclops.
On the X platform, user @Revolutionary Blackout Network condemned the timing, labelling it inappropriate amidst ongoing violence by commenting, "Wild thing to post as Israel is committing a massacre right now,”
Also commenting, American Muslim scholar Dr Omar Suleiman, said, "You're literally a devil Joe,”
Another user, @freshybo_, echoed similar sentiments, accusing Biden of embodying a sinister presence with his post by saying that, "Wow Joe Biden you really did a great job at representing yourself as the Shaytan (devil) that you are."
Not a troll page
Shockingly, the image was not posted by a meme page or troll account, leading to astonishment and criticism from numerous users.
One user with username @AdameMedia commented, "The amount of time it took me to realise this wasn’t a parody account. Read the damn room.”
@almostinlouve commented, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. Like this is a real tweet. From the president of the United States. It's not a parody account. Like it truly is that stupid and ridiculous.”
According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, Israel’s attacks on Gaza have killed at least 28,340 Palestinians and wounded 67,984 others since October 7, 2023.
Biden not only posted this photo on the X platform but also shared it on Instagram with the same caption, tagging the Kansas City Chiefs, Taylor Swift’s boyfriend's team.
In the meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Hamas' recent ceasefire offer and the return of hostages, committing to continue Israel's military offensive until achieving what he termed "absolute victory."
In a press conference in Jerusalem, Netanyahu stressed Hamas' position "delusional" and reiterated his determination to dismantle the Islamist movement, asserting that Israel had no alternative.
Despite warnings of dire consequences, Netanyahu ordered the Israel Defence Forces to prepare for an advance into the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
"There won't be a ceasefire without the return of our hostages, take it completely out of the lexicon, we say it to our enemies and to our friends, and we'll simply carry on until we win,” Netanyahu made this statement after a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday.
While Netanyahu maintained that achieving total victory over Hamas was the sole solution to the four-month-long conflict in Gaza, US State Secretary Antony Blinken stressed the view that there remained space for negotiation towards resolving.
Biden's 2024 campaign strategically utilises social media, especially Twitter, to combat misinformation and interact with the public.
The campaign is specifically targeting misinformation from prominent Republican candidates, such as Donald Trump, whose campaign and supporters have disseminated falsehoods about the 2020 election results and launched personal attacks on Hunter Biden.
Both the Biden and Trump campaigns have employed online ads to critique tech platforms for their policies, with social media companies becoming a central focus of political campaigns.
The Biden campaign's strategy to combat misinformation on social media is a significant component of its overall approach for the 2024 election.