Leaked data expose 'Israel's' effort to censor pro-Palestine content
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The data show that Meta complied with 94% of takedown requests submitted by "Israel" since October 7, 2023.
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The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris, France, on June 14, 2023 (AP)
"Israel's" government has launched a sweeping crackdown on Instagram and Facebook posts that criticize "Israel" or even vaguely express support for Palestinians, according to internal Meta data obtained by Drop Site News.
The data show that Meta has complied with 94% of takedown requests submitted by "Israel" since October 7, 2023.
"Israel" is by far the largest source of takedown requests globally, and Meta has followed suit, expanding the scope of content it removes automatically and effectively creating what could be described as the largest mass censorship operation in modern history, the website emphasized.
Drop Site cited insiders at Meta as saying that government takedown requests generally focus on content posted by users within that government's own borders, highlighting that what makes the Israeli government's campaign unique is "its success in censoring speech in many countries outside of Israel."
Furthermore, sources told the website that "Israel’s" censorship effort is set to continue, with Meta’s artificial intelligence system, currently being trained to manage content, expected to base future decisions on previously successful takedowns of content critical of "Israel’s" genocide.
The data, gathered and provided to Drop Site News by whistleblowers, offers a look into the internal workings of Meta’s “Integrity Organization", a subdivision tasked with ensuring safety and credibility across its platforms.
Takedown Requests (TDRs) allow individuals, institutions, and government officials to request the removal of content allegedly in violation of Meta’s policies.
Documents show that the vast majority (95%) of "Israel’s" requests fall under Meta’s classifications of “terrorism” or “violence and incitement.”
"Israel’s" requests have overwhelmingly targeted users in Arab and Muslim-majority countries in what amounts to a broad effort to silence criticism of the occupation entity.
Multiple independent sources within Meta have confirmed to Drop Site the accuracy of the whistleblowers’ information. The data also reveal that Meta deleted more than 90,000 posts in compliance with temporary takedown orders from the Israeli government, often within an average of just 30 seconds.
Since October 7, 2023, Meta has also significantly expanded its use of automated removals, resulting in actions against an estimated 38.8 million additional posts across Facebook and Instagram since late 2023. In Facebook terminology, “action upon” means a post was either removed, blocked, or hidden.
It is noteworthy that in October 2024, Meta disabled the account of Al Mayadeen English on Instagram for allegedly not following "our Community Guidelines."
The move follows a similar one last October when the Al Mayadeen English account was shortly suspended on Instagram and later restored following an appeal.
In September 2024, Meta unpublished Al Mayadeen English's page following several previous attempts, citing alleged violations of community guidelines.
