Social Media Companies are Censoring Content on Palestine
Social media companies like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok have been suppressing content on Palestine. From limiting reach to taking down posts, restricting hashtags, or suspending accounts altogether, all of these companies have been receiving criticisms from users and activists.
Similar to the Black Lives Matter movement, Palestinians living under airstrikes and police brutality can only document and share what is going on through social media. This is even more true after an Israeli airstrike destroyed the offices of Al Jazeera and AP news in Gaza.
During the last few days of Ramadan, Israeli police used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades against Palestinians in Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Palestinians recorded videos on their phones and uploaded them to social media using hashtags like #AlAqsa. Instagram and its parent company Facebook restricted that hashtag.
Organizations like @Muslim, @jewishvoiceforpeace and @arabamericaninstitute have been documenting the restrictions by social media companies.
Instagram also suspended accounts of multiple people and influential figures who were vocal about Palestine. Khalid Beydoun, a writer and law professor, had his Instagram account locked, after posting multiple posts about the situation in Palestine. The account was restored a few days later after many complaints to Instagram.
Khaled Beydoun’s post on Instagram after his account was restored via @khaledbeydoun
Instagram was not the only platform to remove or suspend accounts. Twitter and TikTok have done the same. TikTok suspended the account of Celtic Palestinian TikToker @b3rnadette after she posted a video using the hashtag #SaveSheikhJarrah and waving the Palestinian flag.
After multiple complaints and petitions to TikTok, @b3rndette’s account was restored. She and Beydoun’s accounts were two of dozens that have had content deleted, viewership limited, or the account suspended.
Twitter and Instagram both blamed the events on technical errors. The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri said the deleted content was due to a “technical bug,” that was widespread and did not target specific content.
“We apologize to all those who felt like they could not bring attention to these incredibly important causes, and many others around the world,” said Mosseri. “Helping people express themselves and raise awareness on the conversations they care about is at the heart of Instagram.”
Mosseri did not, however, address the limited reach of posts or the suspensions of accounts. He claimed that the technical issue was fixed but users continue to report otherwise on both Instagram and other platforms.
Israel’s government has a lot of influence within Instagram’s parent company, Facebook. Emi Palmor, the Former Director General of the Ministry of Justice of Israel, sits on Facebook’s oversight board, a board created to help Facebook decide what to keep online and what to restrict. But the reach goes further.
In 2016, Israel’s Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said that Facebook was complying with up to 95% of Israel’s requests to take content down. This content, the Israeli government claims, “incites violence.” Much of the content taken down from Instagram or Facebook was said to violate “community guidelines,” with no explanation as to which guidelines they violated.
The future of war will not be mere airstrikes and gun violence, but digital warfare as well. And like other weapons, digital platforms must be regulated to ensure that free speech is upheld and the rights of the users protected.
Written by Hanin Najjar
