Latest news with #Israel-IranWar
Time of India
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
WWIII is trending on social media and Gen Z is coping one meme (or loaf) at a time
Israel-Iran War: In a world battered by rising conflict—from Iran to Ukraine to Kashmir—people have found an unexpected coping tool: humour. As fears of World War III surface online, social media users are turning anxiety into memes. Sarcasm now accompanies missile warnings, and jokes mask very real concerns. With Donald Trump's blunt threats to Iran and global military movements underway, the internet has become a digital refuge. For now, when diplomacy falters and danger spreads, laughter remains one of the last shared shields. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads "WWIII anyone? Bread." Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Iran–Israel on the brink Conflicts across the world: From Kyiv to Gaza Sarcasm as survival In June 2025, the world is not just watching war unfold—it's watching it trend. The phrase 'World War III' has become a leading hashtag on X, formerly Twitter, driven by a new wave of dark memes, anxiety, and digital missile strikes in the Middle East to border skirmishes in Kashmir, tension is spreading fast. But online, many are meeting it with humour—equal parts coping mechanism and quiet emerge as a way to manage collective dreadSome laugh, some bake. One user, @difficultpatty, posted, 'My toxic trait is that I use baking as a coping mechanism. Sad? Bread. Anxious? Bread. WWIII? Bread.'Another joked about job-hunting during wartime, 'How it feels looking for a job in the midst of a recession, ICE raids, and the onset of WWIII.' — @samiamrosenbergFor others, the memories run deeper. @jswtreeman shared, 'I was in elementary school in the 60s. I am well trained to survive WWIII.'And @JimRoland15 summed up the mood bluntly, 'WWIII about to start? Better get some pho while I still can.'This digital flood of irony isn't coming from nowhere. It's rooted in fear—and in a string of conflicts escalating at once. Operation Rising Lion draws in Trump, Tehran, and global powersOn 14 June 2025, Israel launched its largest aerial assault on Iran, targeting nuclear and military infrastructure under Operation Rising Lion. The Iranian response was swift and direct—missiles and drones struck Tel Aviv and other Israeli Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei warned, 'We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy.'Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump took to X with threats of his own.'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target but is safe there—we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.'In a follow-up post, Trump declared in all caps, 'Unconditional surrender.'He added, 'We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn't compare to American-made, conceived, and manufactured 'stuff'. Nobody does it better than the good ol' USA.'With reports of U.S. F-16s, F-22s and F-35s moving into the region, and warships prepared to intercept ballistic missiles, the threat of a wider conflict looms large. America already maintains 40,000 troops in the wars, no signs of peaceWhile the Middle East grabs headlines, other conflicts continue to Now in its fourth year, the war has killed tens of thousands. Russian troops continue advancing in the east, while Ukraine pushes back with support from the West. Entire cities lie in ruin. NATO-Russia tensions remain Renewed fighting since October 2023 has led to over 55,000 reported deaths, mostly in Gaza. Israeli ground operations and Hamas rocket attacks keep the region locked in cycles of violence. Ceasefire efforts are On 22 April 2025, a terror attack in Pahalgam killed 26 Indian tourists. India responded with missile strikes on Pakistan-administered Kashmir under Operation Sindoor. Pakistan retaliated with drone and mortar attacks. Civilians were killed. Tensions along the Line of Control remain become modern resistance in a fractured worldAs real bombs fall, the digital world reacts in gifs and one-liners. Some memes target the absurdity of global diplomacy. Others mock the parallels to previous wars. Flashbacks to America's 2003 invasion of Iraq over nonexistent Weapons of Mass Destruction are common.'Here we go again,' reads one caption. 'First WMDs, now this.'One user wrote simply, 'My first world war. Kinda nervous.' — @swatic12Another posted a photo of a wartime bakery with the caption:'Doctor who lost his life while saving humans during the COVID pandemic: [facepalming during WWIII]' — @HowHumansIn these jokes lie real questions. Are governments acting in the public's interest? Will anyone be held accountable if things go wrong—again?Social media is shaping how people process real-time warfareThe rise of WWIII memes isn't just about jokes. It's a collective way of processing global insecurity. A world that once clapped for health workers now scrolls past images of drone strikes with gallows media, for all its flaws, is where the psychological cost of war is visible—loud, anxious, and often diplomats fail and leaders posture, people online are asking the question behind every meme:Are we living through the start of something bigger?And if so—what can we do about it?
Fox News
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
MORNING GLORY: The Israel-Iran War is closer to its end than its beginning
In the year and a half since the horrific massacre of 1,200 innocents, the wounding of 5,000 and the kidnapping of 250 victims by the terrorists of Hamas on October 7, 2023, war has raged through and around Israel. It is closer to its end than it is to its beginning, but it rages still. America's early and strong support for the Jewish State faltered as President Biden's cognitive impairment grew worse and more obvious. We do not know whether the former president's infirmity impacted his original, resolute support for Israel by allowing the anti-Israel wing of his party to ascend within the West Wing or to worry his campaign's guiding hands into advising him that appeasement of Iran and its forces was necessary to win last fall. Thanks to the new book "Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House" by NBC's Jonathan Allen and The Hill's Amie Parnes, however, we now know for sure that the divide between the U.S. and the equal of any of its allies on the planet widened and deepened as the months went by. That very disturbing story was also alluded to by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview last week with Israeli journalist Gadi Taub. It wasn't just the halt of a single shipment of 2,000 pound bombs. It wasn't just Vice President Harris's assertion that she'd "studied the maps" and Rafah could not be assaulted. It was a collective turn against Israel at every level of the Biden administration that should shock every friend of our ally. That has changed, of course, and President Donald Trump is at least the equal of any previous president in his resolute support for Israel. Which is a relief as Iran shows no sign of wanting to do anything but "break out" and build a nuclear weapon to add to its arsenal. Israel's destruction of most of Iran's proxy forces in the region as well as of the Iranian air defenses which the enemy of the West thought extremely strong, but which proved very weak over the course of the war, has left Iran's nuclear sites and oil refineries defenseless. The choice before Ayatollah Khamenei is stark. There is no public evidence that Iran's "Supreme Leader" has dialed back his fanaticism and accepted President Trump's invitation to peacefully abandon its nuclear ambitions, but we cannot know. Rogue states like Libya and apartheid-era South Africa chose to abandon their WMD programs. It's not impossible that Iran will too. Unlikely, but not impossible. What is impossible is to erase the record of who did what and said what over the course of what ought to be called the Israel-Iran War "Sometimes a flare goes up and you get to see exactly where everyone is standing," Douglas Murray writes in his profound "On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization." That flare went up on 10/7 and has never for a moment dimmed. Everything is on the record. The reckoning continues. Murray painstakingly reminds the reader of a few of the awful atrocities of the 10/7 war crimes as well as retracing the instant arrival of apologists for the terrorists. It is a necessary, but troubling revisiting of the facts of the attempt to destroy Israel before he turns to the biggest question. Not even as indefatigable a reporter as Murray can do more than remind us of some of the terrible crimes, some of the victims, some of Israel's many heroes. What he does, elegantly, is set up the reader for the question that has haunted the world since 9/11: "What can Western liberal societies do in the face of such movements" as Hamas and Hezbollah and, of course, Iran. Murray cannot provide an answer, but he does lead the careful reader to some measured optimism. The West can rally, can reject the death cults, can produce a new generation of warriors and patriots even as Israel has over 18 months. It does not require persuading the useful idiots in the West who march and scream in defense of the totalitarian killers. "Would there ever be any way to get into the heads of these students that this was not some kind of game?" Murray asks after reviewing some of the most stupid slogans of the apologists of terror. It does not seem likely. But it also does not seem all that necessary. The United States, Israel and the rest of the West contain within it deep wells of resolve to live freely and without fear, to defeat some enemies and deter others. Journalists and public intellectuals like Murray arrive at the moments they are most needed, just as Murray has. "Fearless" doesn't begin to describe how he has covered Israel's trauma and its recovery and ongoing march towards a remarkable victory over the evil that surrounded it and overwhelmed it briefly. The cost has been so immense that it is sometimes difficult to recall that, through this long and often ghastly war, civilized people have rallied to Israel and will continue to do so. Indeed, there are signs now that the people of Gaza themselves are done with the butchers who have brought such devastation down on their heads. Lebanon too may be awakening, as did Syria, to the hope that the futures of their countries do not have to be mortgaged to the fanatics of Tehran. The cost has been so very high and will grow higher still. Murray charts the reality that there is no choice but to confront and defeat the evil. It's a book you should get and read and buy for family and friends. It is a riveting account and a profound assessment of where we have been and the choices we have to make. It should be a best-seller, proudly displayed on the table of anyone who stands for freedom and human dignity against the fanatics of our time. Hugh Hewitt is host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show," heard weekday mornings 6am to 9am ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh wakes up America on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel's news roundtable hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University's Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcast, and this column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.
