The non-governmental organization dedicated to the research, defense and promotion of human rights Human Rights Watch, denounced that META, the social media service, systematically censors Palestinian content or content that supports the country, following the war between Israel and the extremist group Hamas.
Meta’s content moderation policies and systems have increasingly silenced pro-Palestinian voices on Instagram and Facebook in the wake of hostilities between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on December 20.
The 51-page report, “Meta’s Broken Promises: Systemic Censorship of Palestinian Content on Instagram and Facebook,” documents a pattern of improper removal and suppression of protected speech, including peaceful expression in support of Palestine and public debate about Palestinian human rights.
Human Rights Watch found that the problem stems from flawed meta-policies and their inconsistent and erroneous implementation, over-reliance on automated tools to moderate content, and undue government influence over content removal.
“Meta’s censorship of pro-Palestinian content adds insult to injury at a time of unspeakable atrocities and repression that already stifle Palestinian expression,” said Deborah Brown, acting deputy director for technology and human rights at Human Rights Watch.
Brown said social media is a vital platform for people to bear witness and speak out against abuses, and Meta's censorship helps erase the suffering of Palestinians.
The organization noted that it reviewed 1,050 cases of online censorship in more than 60 countries, and while they are not necessarily a representative analysis of censorship, the cases are consistent with years of reporting and advocacy by Palestinian, regional and international human rights organizations detailing Meta's censorship of content supporting Palestinians.
Following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials, Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed some 20,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Added to this, Israel's illegal restrictions on humanitarian aid have contributed to an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe for Gaza's 2.2 million people, nearly half of whom are children.
Human Rights Watch said it identified six key patterns of censorship, each repeated in at least 100 cases: removal of content, suspension or deletion of accounts, inability to interact with content, inability to follow or tag accounts, restrictions on the use of features like Instagram/Facebook Live, and “shadow banning,” a term denoting a significant decrease in the visibility of an individual’s posts, stories, or accounts without notification.
In more than 300 cases, users were unable to appeal the removal of content or accounts because the appeals mechanism did not work properly, leaving them without effective access to recourse, the organization said.
He also noted that in hundreds of documented cases, Meta invoked its “Dangerous Organizations and Individuals” (DOI) policy, which fully incorporates the United States’ designated lists of “terrorist organizations.” In that regard, he noted that Meta has cited these lists and applied them widely to restrict legitimate discourse about hostilities between Israel and Palestinian armed groups.
It also said Meta has misapplied its policies on violent and graphic content, violence and incitement, hate speech, nudity and sexual activity, and has inconsistently applied its “newsworthiness assignment” policy, removing dozens of pieces of newsworthy content documenting Palestinian injuries and deaths.
In a 2021 report, Human Rights Watch documented Facebook’s censorship of debate on rights issues relating to Israel and Palestine and warned that Meta was “silencing many people arbitrarily and without explanation.”
By 2022, Meta committed to making a number of changes to its content moderation policies and enforcement. However, it said, nearly two years later, Meta has failed to meet its commitments and the company has failed to live up to its human rights responsibilities, Human Rights Watch found.
“Instead of tired apologies and empty promises, Meta should demonstrate that it is serious about addressing Palestine-related censorship once and for all by taking concrete steps toward transparency and remediation,” Brown said.
This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the CaliFornia State Library.
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