CSOs condemn hate speech against Palestinians on social media
4 Min Read
Civil society and human rights organizations are urging social media companies to take immediate action against hate speech, and the spread of misinformation.
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A view of a laptop and monitors showing the X sign on the page, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, July 24, 2023 (AP)
In a statement addressing social media companies, civil society and human rights organizations called for protective measures to combat racism against Palestinians and discrimination against their online content, highlighting the interconnection between the digital world and the real world.
"Between the 7th and the 11th of October, the Arab Center for Social Media Development documented 19,000 violent tweets out of 23,000 tweets in Hebrew on the 'X' platform. This violent content included incitement, hate speech, and racism against Palestinians. On the other hand, misleading information and false information are spreading on social media, contributing to dehumanizing Palestinians and creating a stereotypical image of them. Additionally, some official Israeli pages praised violence and justified attacks against civilians," the statement read.
Footage shows martyred and injured #Palestinians being pulled out from under the rubble of homes deliberately bombed by the Israeli occupation in the Nusseirat refugee camp in #Gaza.#Palestine #GazaUnderAttack #GazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/epKxD17JDg
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 14, 2023
"We stand united today in calling on social media companies to urgently address cases of hate speech, incitement, and violent rhetoric on the internet, targeting Palestinians, especially in Hebrew. Incitement to violence against Palestinians and calls for collective punishment are widespread on the internet, especially on platforms like Telegram and X."
"Israel" is targeting children's videos on #YouTube to spread misinformation about the #Palestinian Resistance.#Gaza #GazaUnderAttack #Palestine pic.twitter.com/kbjI5Xkvqx
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 13, 2023
"Moreover, tech companies have a responsibility to ensure the respect and protection of Palestinian voices on their platforms, just like they do for other users worldwide, especially those documenting human rights violations. We are also concerned about the significant and disproportionate censorship of Palestinian voices through content removal, hashtag suppression, and more. These restrictions imposed on activists, civil society, and human rights defenders pose a serious threat to freedom of expression, the right to access information, freedom of assembly, and political participation."
The statement was co-signed by: 7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media; PAX For Peace; Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP); International Media Support; ARTICLE 19: Global Campaign for Free Expression; The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD); Association for Progressive Communications; European Legal Support Center (ELSC); SMEX; Access Now; Bloggers of Zambia (BloggersZM); Open Knowledge Foundation; Digital Action; Al Mezan Center for Human Rights; The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy - MIFTAH; Al-Haq; and Bisan Center for Research and Development, among others...
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In the context of censorship, on Monday, Al Mayadeen English account was shortly suspended on Instagram. The account was later restored after filing an appeal, however, no reason was provided for the cause of the block and no prior notice was given either.
It is worth noting that our coverage follows journalistic standards and displays no graphic content that could have violated guidelines. It is also not the first time that Meta has taken such measures, as they have also previously banned and blocked pro-Palestine accounts.
@Instagram temporarily suspended @AlMayadenEnglish account on #Instagram to censor its reporting on what is happening in #Palestine. The account was restored after filing an appeal.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 9, 2023
Our account was suspended with no prior notice, nor were we informed of the true reason for the… pic.twitter.com/bFgBWpmy51
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Al Mayadeen English was not the only news network or outlet that was hit with a block or suspension by Mark Zuckerberg's Meta. Global outlet Red Stream was also suspended on Instagram and has not restored its account yet.
Instagram suspended our account in a blatant attempt to censor our reporting on occupied Palestine. Other than stating that "community guidelines were not followed," Meta terminated our page without notice. Our coverage follows journalistic standards and displays no graphic… pic.twitter.com/C1wybl3RCR
— red. (@redstreamnet) October 7, 2023
Meanwhile, the news website, Mondoweiss, which provides news and analyses for people taking action for Palestine as defined on its Twitter profile, confirmed that its TikTok account was "permanently banned". The reason it provided was the mere coverage of the events in Palestine. Mondoweiss slammed Meta's move as "an outrageous attack on press freedom," demanding that its account be reinstated.
Today, our #TikTok account was "permanently banned" during our ongoing coverage of the events in Palestine. Mondoweiss is a news outlet with professional journalists. This is an outrageous attack on press freedom.@TikTokSupport, we demand that our account be reinstated. pic.twitter.com/CKTSc2qlaw
— Mondoweiss (@Mondoweiss) October 9, 2023
Earlier, former Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked boasted that she worked closely with Facebook to censor Palestinian voices, with the Silicon Valley company agreeing to remove around 95% of the information she requested.
#Palestinian users were deprived of their freedom of expression during the 2-week war on #Gaza by "Israel" last year, by having their content blocked on Facebook and penalizing Arabic-speaking users more heavily than those who spoke Hebrew. pic.twitter.com/DZC2NLV6sW
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 26, 2022
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