Not to this degree in the last few decades. But I feel you are overall correct, it's just that the Internet allows for much bigger coverage of the details of the horrors committed, and it's interesting how governments around the world now fail so completely to shape the narrative.
The October 7th attacks were way worse than Hamas attacks that came before in recent history. The response was way worse than what has happened before in recent history.
And so both sides feel fully justified with their courses of action, because of what the other side did to them. That is the part that is so much not unique.
Governments are still shaping the narrative, it's just that the ones that are most skilled and successful in manipulating social media happen to be the non-Western ones (Think about China controlling Tiktok, or the various Russia election influence theories).
