Meta’s censorship of reporting of Israel’s genocide in Gaza is having a “devastating” effect on Palestinians, new analysis by an Arab media watchdog The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, also known as 7amleh.
7amleh gathered first-hand testimonies from Palestinian journalists, media outlets and influencers who say that discriminatory censorship by Facebook and Instagram, which are owned by the Meta conglomerate, has drastically impacted the reach of their reporting since October last year. The same censorship is absent from pro-Israel posts and channels, according to the watchdog: over fifteen million ‘hasbara’ (pro-Israel propaganda) posts have been documented inciting readers against Palestinians since October last year.
Dima Kabaha of media outlet Arabs48 described the impact of Meta’s censorship on its activities:
Meta surprised us by deleting our Facebook page twice without any prior notice, message or warning. The page is still deleted.
Others interviewed lost access to features like live streaming and inter-page collaborations. One page, by Ali Obeidat was deleted on both platforms eighty-three times, while another lost around ninety percent of its reach, mirroring a similar impact after the 2017 UK general election when left-wing platforms, including Skwawkbox, that had helped then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn almost win the election saw their reach plummet after Facebook changed its algorithms to restrict left-wing news.
7amleh said Meta’s policies are causing loss of income, distress and self-censorship among Palestinian journalists and influencers who have played a key role in raising global awareness of Israel’s genocide and other atrocities, with the watchdog concluding that:
The continued discriminatory practices by Meta against Palestinian content constitute a clear violation of international standards for freedom of expression.
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Yep, the control freak geeks have set themselves up as an unofficial/official censorship agency without the first idea what they are censoring. They’ve, obviously, been given their orders without fully understanding what they’re doing. If they’re not sure they censor anyway. Who’s going to call them out on it?
Guess who else is complicit in genocide and should hang???