Human Rights Watch accused Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) on Thursday of “working to silence” pro-Palestinian voices on Facebook and Instagram since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas.
The New York-based organization said in a report issued Thursday that “META’s policies and practices work to silence voices supporting Palestine and Palestinian human rights on Instagram and Facebook in a wave of heightened censorship on social media.”
“Meta’s censorship of content supporting Palestine makes matters worse at a time when unspeakable atrocities and oppression are already stifling Palestinians’ ability to express themselves,” said Deborah Brown, acting director of Human Rights Watch’s Technology and Human Rights Division.
On Tuesday, Meta's independent oversight board criticized the company for removing publications showing human suffering as a result of the war.
Human Rights Watch cited “systematic online censorship,” and reviewed more than 1,050 “takedowns and other forms of content suppression” on Instagram and Facebook from more than 60 countries during the months of October and November.
The censored content was published by “Palestinians and their supporters, and a number of their posts dealt with human rights violations,” according to the organization.
The report added, “While this appears to be the largest wave of suppression of Palestine-related content to date, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has a well-documented record of widespread suppression campaigns of Palestine-related content.”
The organization confirmed that it continues to receive reports of exposure to censorship after it completed its analysis, “which means that the total number of cases received by Human Rights Watch far exceeded 1,050 cases.”
Human Rights Watch said that of the 1,050 cases it reviewed, 1,049 included “peaceful content in support of Palestine that was unjustifiably blocked or suppressed, while one case involved the removal of content in support of Israel.”
She explained that censorship on Instagram and Facebook included removing posts and comments, suspending or disabling accounts, and restricting certain features, including the ability of users to interact with posts or follow certain accounts, as well as limiting the visibility of users’ content.
The human rights organization noted that its publications were also subject to restrictions, as dozens of users reported the inability to republish, like, or comment on a Human Rights Watch publication that “calls for providing evidence of censorship on the Internet.”
“META must allow protected expression on its platforms, including regarding human rights violations and political movements,” Human Rights Watch said.