Meta Censors Pro-Palestine Content on Facebook, Instagram – Human Rights Group

A human rights group is accusing Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, of "stifling" pro-Palestinian content on its social media platforms.

Human Rights Watch raised concerns of Meta conducting a "systemic and global" removal of "peaceful" pro-Palestine posts even without clear violation to any of the content policies.

The group documented over 1,050 takedowns of content by Palestinians and their supporters, including issues of human rights abuses. The posts came from over 60 countries.

According to HRW, over 1,000 of the removed posts were restricted under the guise of "violent and graphic content, violence and incitement, hate speech, and nudity and sexual activity".

Meta acknowledged that it has made errors that are "frustrating" people but insisted that it is the only platform releasing human rights issues about the Gaza conflict with due diligence.

Accusations of Systemic Censorship by Meta

This was not the first time Meta has been accused of censoring "newsworthy" content on its platforms.

Just this week, US Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg demanding an explanation to the alleged suppression of pro-Palestine content.

Warren cited a statement co-signed by over 90 human rights and civil rights groups alleging the removal and mistranslation of Palestine-related posts since the conflict started in October.

Meta has been involved in the same issue in 2021 when many Palestinians were displaced from their homes in Jerusalem by Israeli forces.

Meta's Policies on Israel-Palestine Conflict

The social media giant has released a detailed list of its responsibilities in disseminating information regarding human rights about the conflict in Palestine last September.

Disinformation campaigns have ramped up on the platform following the Hamas attack on Gaza on Oct. 7.

As of writing, Israel continues to conduct air raids on the war-torn Gaza as it vowed to eradicate all members of the rebel group.