Published December 21,2023
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Human Rights Watch accused Meta on Thursday of limiting pro-Palestinian content material on Facebook and Instagram, decrying “systemic online censorship” for the reason that onset of the Israel-Hamas battle.
“Meta’s policies and practises have been silencing voices in support of Palestine and Palestinian human rights on Instagram and Facebook in a wave of heightened censorship of social media,” the New York-based group mentioned in a report launched Thursday.
“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,” mentioned Deborah Brown, performing affiliate director of HRW’s expertise and human rights division.
On Tuesday, Meta’s unbiased oversight board had already criticised the social media titan for eradicating posts that confirmed human struggling within the battle.
The battle started when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing round 1,140 folks, principally civilians, and abducting about 250, in keeping with an AFP tally based mostly on Israeli figures.
Israel’s ensuing army marketing campaign in Gaza has up to now killed at the very least 20,000 folks, nearly all of them youngsters and girls, in keeping with the Hamas authorities.
HRW pointed to “systemic online censorship”, reporting greater than 1,050 “takedowns and other suppression of content” on Instagram and Facebook from over 60 international locations throughout October and November.
The content material in query was posted by “Palestinians and their supporters, including about human rights abuses”.
“While this appears to be the biggest wave of suppression of content about Palestine to date, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has a well-documented record of overbroad crackdowns on content related to Palestine,” the report added.
Hundreds of individuals continued to report censorship after the organisation accomplished its evaluation, “meaning that the total number of cases Human Rights Watch received greatly exceeded 1,050,” it added.
Of the 1,050 instances reviewed, 1,049 concerned “peaceful content in support of Palestine that was censored or otherwise unduly suppressed, while one case involved removal of content in support of Israel,” HRW mentioned.
HRW mentioned censorship on Instagram and Facebook included the elimination of posts, tales and feedback, suspending or disabling accounts, limiting sure options together with customers’ capability to interact with posts or observe sure accounts, in addition to limiting the visibility of customers’ content material.
The group mentioned its personal posts suffered from restrictions, with dozens of customers reporting they had been unable to repost, like or touch upon a HRW submit “calling for evidence of online censorship, which was flagged as ‘spam’,” it added.
“Meta should permit protected expression, including about human rights abuses and political movements, on its platforms,” HRW mentioned.
Source: www.anews.com.tr
