Human Rights Watch accuses Meta of censoring content in support of Palestine on Instagram and Facebook

Suspended accounts, deleted comments, blocked users or posts deleted at government request. Goal is silencing Palestinian voices and those of those who support them, “in a wave of unprecedented censorship” of content on Instagram and Facebook registered since October 7, when the war in Gaza began, denounces the NGO Human Rights Watchin an investigation released this Thursday, in which the company's “broken promises” are criticized when it comes to moderating its content with transparency and responsibility.

“What has impressed us is that it is something global. These are not activists who usually handle the issue of Palestine. “They are ordinary citizens, people concerned with what is happening, who react to the news and experience censorship for the first time,” Deborah Brown, co-author of this report, which is based on and complements years of research by Palestinian and international organizations, told this newspaper. of human rights and digital rights, in particular 7amlehthe Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, and Access Now.

HRW considers that Meta is applying its security standards in an “inconsistent” manner and that this leads to “the erroneous removal of content about Palestine” and causes many users to choose not to share certain information to avoid being blocked or flagged. The NGO believes that censorship is “systemic and global” and that Meta's restrictions are “contrary to the universal rights of freedom of expression and access to information.”

These are not activists who usually handle the issue of Palestine. They are ordinary citizens, people concerned with what is happening, who react to the news and experience censorship for the first time,

Deborah Brown, HRW

To carry out this investigation, HRW publicly asked users who had felt censored when expressing themselves about Israel and Palestine to tell their experience and support it with precise information. The NGO received and continues to receive many examples and has documented more than 1,000 cases of content deletion and significant restrictions on Instagram and Facebook between October and November 2023. These are publications or comments from around 60 countries, mainly in English , with a common denominator: “the peaceful expression of support for Palestine”, at a time when the conflict reaches an unknown intensity and has already caused more than 20,000 deaths in Gaza and some 1,200 in Israel, after a bloody incursion by militants of the Islamist movement Hamas, which rules de facto in the Strip.

The NGO sent Meta the conclusions of this investigation and the parent company of Facebook and Instagram responded that it was aware that the measures it adopts during conflicts could have unintended consequences “such as inadvertently limiting harmless or even useful publications” and admitted that in “Exceptional situations the response cannot be perfect and people and systems make mistakes.”

This newspaper contacted Meta to find out more about the measures it has taken to moderate its content in the midst of this crisis and the company sent to the blog in which it explains its decisions to guarantee “both the expression and the safety” of its users since October 7.

This week, complaints filed by users achieved Meta Oversight Council estimated that the company's automated tools unnecessarily removed two videos related to the conflict between Hamas and Israel and highlighted that the use of these automated mechanisms increases the likelihood of removing “valuable publications” that raise awareness about the conflict and may contain evidence of violations of human rights. The decision refers to a video in which an Israeli hostage appears pleading not to be killed and another in which children are seen injured or killed after a bombing near the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza. Both have already been republished by Meta.

“The Council's decision confirms what we have seen: there are many people who have suffered this censorship who appeal for their content to be restored,” Brown added.

No Palestinian flags, no criticism of Israel

The investigation published this Thursday by HRW concludes that comments that included the slogans “Free Palestine”, “Cease fire now” or “Stop genocide” were removed from numerous publications. Phrases that included a mere neutral mention of Hamas, a criticism of the Israeli Government or used an emoji with the Palestinian flag also disappeared.

“Any content that glorifies Hamas, considered a dangerous organization by Meta, is not allowed on our platforms. We can make mistakes and that is why we offer the possibility for people to appeal and tell us what they think we have done wrong and we will examine it,” the company responded to HRW.

Instagram and Facebook have also suspended or permanently deactivated the accounts of journalists, activists and media outlets. The investigation cites, for example, the Instagram page of Let's Talk Palestine, the account of the Mondoweiss correspondentLeila Warah, and the Quds News Network Facebook page. The argument used in the majority of these cases was non-compliance with the “dangerous organizations and individuals” rule, which bans those who advocate violence. The rule, essentially positive and necessary, in fact prohibits, according to this investigation, peaceful messages in favor of human rights and silences the debate on Israel and Palestine.

The users “intended to denounce violence, not incite it,” HRW emphasizes, lamenting that, by decontextualizing the content and applying its policies without nuances, Meta is achieving the opposite result to that sought by its regulations.

In other cases, Meta argued that certain deleted content violated the “adult nudity and sexual activity” rule, but in the documented cases, this argument always corresponds to images of Palestinian corpses in the ruins of Gaza, which are fully clothed. HRW also cites the example of a Facebook user, who posted a comment saying: “How can anyone justify supporting the killing of babies and innocent civilians?”, which was removed under community standards on “intimidation and harassment”.

On the other hand, HRW confirms that there is a double standard in these restrictions. While pro-Palestinian content is removed, others that constitute hate speech towards Palestinians remain online. For example, one user reported a comment that read: “I wish Israel success in this war in which they are right, I hope they wipe Palestine off the face of the earth.” But Instagram concluded that it did not violate community standards.

The NGO also mentions an “opaque” application of the exceptions to the rules of use of these platforms. That is to say, Meta sometimes allows you to publish content in favor of public or journalistic interest, even if they violate their policies, something that has already happened in the case of the Ukrainian war.

In addition, HRW regrets that the company “gives in to requests by governments to take down publications,” such as requests issued by Israel Cyber ​​Unit. This body, dependent on the State Attorney General's Office, had issued, according to press information, 9,500 content removal requests since October 7, 2023 and until November 14, more than half of them to Meta. The platforms would have agreed to remove more than 90% of these publications, according to the same sources. Human Rights Watch sent a letter to this Israeli organization asking for details about the norms that were violated in these comments, but has so far received no response. “We do not eliminate content simply because a government entity requests it,” Meta defends himself in his response to the NGO.

Intensified abuses

Although this appears to be the largest wave of suppression of content about Palestine to date, Meta has restricted or banned this type of information in the past, according to HRW. In 2021, when Israel ordered the eviction of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem, there was a wave of censorship against people who criticized these actions on social media. expulsions and abuse. At that time, HRW published a report, documenting these restrictions and warning that Meta was “silencing many people arbitrarily and without explanation.”

Meta has not kept its promises and the patterns of past abuse are not only repeated, but intensified.

HRW

In response, Meta commissioned an independent investigation into its Arabic and Hebrew content moderation policies on Facebook and the operation of its automatic monitoring devices. This study concluded that “the company's policies “appear to have had a negative impact on the right to freedom of expression of Palestinian users.” Meta made several commitments at the time, but what has happened since October 7 shows that “it has not kept its promises and the patterns of past abuses are not only repeated, but intensified,” says HRW.

“We hope to continue putting pressure on Meta to put into practice some of the recommendations it has already received and to be more transparent with users, with the people affected by its decisions. This is not new. “We are only adding our voice to those of organizations, Palestinian and international, that urge Meta to respect human rights and freedom of expression on issues related to Palestine,” explains Brown.

Among others, HRW urges Meta “to review its dangerous organizations and individuals rules to bring them into line with international human rights standards,” improve transparency around government requests to remove content, and examine the use of automated algorithms. to moderate content related to Palestine.

The NGO frames its research in a global context of “crisis and polarization.” The NGO highlights that since October 7, artists, academics, journalists, activists and simple citizens with pro-Palestinian discourses have suffered attempts at silencing and intimidation by various governments and private institutions. He also recalls that in several countries, such as France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Hungary, attempts have been made to restrict demonstrations of support for Palestine. “Punitive tactics against those who express solidarity with the Palestinians or criticize Israeli war crimes in Gaza pose serious challenges to freedom of expression,” laments the NGO.

For its part, in Israel, Parliament approved in November a amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Law of 2016 which classifies the “consumption of terrorist material” as a crime. Adalah, an Israeli human rights organization, considers that this provision “invades the realm of thoughts and personal beliefs and significantly expands state surveillance of social media use.” The entity has documented, between October 7, 2023 and November 13, 2023, a total of 251 cases in which people in Israel have been detained, reprimanded or interrogated for acts that would violate the right to freedom of expression .

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