New Delhi: Human Rights Watch in a report has said that Meta has been systematically silencing voices in support of Palestine on Instagram and Facebook after the horrific events in Israel of October 7, and Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza, where nearly 20,000 Palestinians are said to have been killed already.In a 51-page report, titled, “Meta’s Broken Promises: Systemic Censorship of Palestine Content on Instagram and Facebook,” the human rights group has documented a pattern of undue removal and suppression of protected speech, including peaceful expression in support of Palestine and public debate about Palestinian human rights.It says it has identified “six key patterns of censorship, each recurring in at least 100 instances”. These include, “content removals, suspension or deletion of accounts, inability to engage with content, inability to follow or tag accounts, restrictions on the use of features such as Instagram/Facebook Live, and “shadow banning,” a term denoting a significant decrease in the visibility of an individual’s posts, stories, or account without notification.”Moreover, in over 300 cases, it found that “users were unable to appeal content or account removal because the appeal mechanism malfunctioned, leaving them with no effective access to a remedy.”Deborah Brown, acting associate technology and human rights director at Human Rights Watch, said, “Meta’s censorship of content in support of Palestine adds insult to injury at a time of unspeakable atrocities and repression already stifling Palestinians’ expression.” She added that “social media is an essential platform for people to bear witness and speak out against abuses while Meta’s censorship is furthering the erasure of Palestinians’ suffering.”Human Rights Watch said it had reviewed 1,050 cases of online censorship from over 60 countries. It says that in hundreds of the cases, Meta had invoked its “Dangerous Organizations and Individuals” (DOI) policy, which fully incorporates the US lists of “terrorist organisations.” Meta also “misapplied”, alleges HRW, its policies on violent and graphic content, violence and incitement, hate speech, and nudity and sexual activity. It has also allegedly “inconsistently applied its “newsworthy allowance” policy, removing dozens of pieces of content documenting Palestinian injury and death that have news value,” Human Rights Watch said.Al Jazeera, in an analysis in October, had asked if social media giants were censoring pro-Palestine voices amid Israel’s war. It said that “from the US to Europe to India, users and activists say the world’s largest social media platforms are curtailing the reach of content critical of Israel.”
