Over 19,000 cases of hate speech in Hebrew detected on X platform

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Oct 2023 18:19
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7amleh, a social media watchdog, has been monitoring extensive internet outages across the majority of Gaza due to "Israel's" targeting of telecommunication and electricity infrastructure.

Palestinians inspect the rubble of the Yassin Mosque destroyed after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, early Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP)

As of yesterday, 7amleh, The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, has identified over 19,000 instances of hate speech and incitement in Hebrew on the X platform (formerly Twitter).

This surge in content began on October 7th, coinciding with recent escalations. The cases documented included various harmful content types, with 50% categorized as hate speech, 30% as misinformation or content encouraging violence and incitement. Furthermore, 48% of these tweets had political motives, while 32% displayed racial bias, and the remaining content included elements of gender and religious discrimination.

Moreover, 7or - the Palestinian Observatory for Digital Rights Violations - reported 357 violations from October 7th through October 11th.

These violations consisted of 128 cases of account restrictions targeting Palestinian activists and supporters, as well as 229 cases of hate speech and incitement, primarily aimed at Gaza residents, advocating destruction, violence, and harm to civilians.

7amleh has detected more than 19,000 cases of hate speech and inciting content in Hebrew language on X

Read full press release: https://t.co/8qtCxnCq5n pic.twitter.com/C8eQbKKxUt
— 7amleh حملة (@7amleh) October 12, 2023

7amleh has been monitoring extensive internet outages across the majority of Gaza due to "Israel's" targeting of telecommunication and electricity infrastructure. "Israel's" actions include airstrikes on key facilities such as Watan Tower and the headquarters of Palestine Telecommunications Company, as well as power cuts.

This targeted destruction of internet and electricity companies constitutes a severe violation of Palestinian digital rights, infringing on freedom of expression, information access, and communication. Notably, Internet infrastructure plays a vital role in connecting individuals during crises and providing essential information and support.

The Israeli regime is capitalizing on the current international environment to pressure social media companies into censoring the Palestinian narrative and suppressing voices critical of Israeli policies.

Palestinian content and advocates for Palestinian rights are consistently subjected to censorship and restrictions, while false and misleading news spreads widely on online platforms, as is common during times of crisis.

Nadim Nashif, the director of the Campaign Center, called on X to take serious measures to remove content that promotes hate speech and incitement from its platform.

"These tweets, classified as hate speech and incitement, can potentially translate into real-world attacks on Palestinians, as previously seen with incitement on the same platform, leading to organized attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian communities both in the West Bank and "Israel." There is concern that similar attacks may occur again," Nashif said.

Without fuel or internet, Israel set to disconnect #Gaza from the world https://t.co/FUIlHnPJfs
— Nadim Nashif #SaveSheikhJarrah (@NadimNashif) October 12, 2023

The Center emphasizes the importance of reporting all cases of hate speech and incitement targeting content creators and individuals in the digital space, especially those published in Hebrew, to the Hurr platform on its website at 7or.7amleh.org.

They also encourage reporting any violations related to user accounts and the spread of false news in the digital space.