Meta censorship is having a ‘devastating’ impact on Palestinian news sources
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Alex MacDonald reports in Middle East Eye on 18 December 2024:
Meta’s policy of censorship is having a “devastating” impact on Palestinians, according to a new report by a prominent Arab media watchdog.
The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, also known as 7amleh, collected 20 first-hand testimonies from Palestinian influencers, journalists and media outlets who have experienced the tech conglomerate’s discriminatory practices.
Since October 2023, with the start of Israel’s assault on Gaza, Meta has been accused of censoring Palestinian content and groups on Facebook and Instagram, two of the social media platforms it owns. The testimonies collected by 7amleh highlight the closure and shadow-banning of community pages, local media outlets and influencer accounts, leading to a steep decline in engagement.
According to 7amleh, more than 15 million posts in Hebrew inciting against Palestinians have been documented across social media platforms since October 2023.
Yahya Alsayed, a manager of the Ask Jerusalem community group, which provides information for Jerusalem-based Palestinians, said the page was first suspended for a year in 2021 following the attempted evictions in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.
Even after the group was restored, he said they continued to be shadow-banned and their audience interaction dwindled.
Another media outlet, Arabs48, said they had faced repeated restrictions over the past year. “Meta surprised us by deleting our Facebook page twice without any prior notice, message or warning. The page is still deleted,” said Dima Kabaha, one of the outlet’s editors.
“As for our Instagram page, access to it is restricted and low and may reach up to a maximum of 2,000 followers per post and a few hundred per story. Our account no longer appears when searching for it, and the collaboration option has been restricted.”
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7amleh said Meta’s policies are leading to loss of income, emotional distress and self-censorship among Palestinian journalists and influencers.