Social Media Platforms Accused of Censoring Pro-Palestinian Content

Numerous Arab and Emirati influencers have alleged that social media platforms are systematically removing pro-Palestinian content, under the pretext of complying with the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), which took effect in August of this year.?

The DSA mandates companies to promptly remove any posts considered dangerous or illegal, even if the content constitutes political speech protected by international law. EU officials have explicitly cautioned platforms about their responsibility to censor materials related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.?

Earlier, EU industry chief Thierry Breton urged CEO Mark Zuckerberg to curb disinformation, emphasizing the necessity for the company to strictly adhere to European law. "I would ask you to be vigilant in ensuring strict compliance with DSA rules on terms of service, the requirement for timely, diligent, and objective action following notices of illegal content in the EU, and the need for proportionate and effective mitigation measures," Breton said.

However, many insist that only pro-Palestinian content faces removal. Allegations gained traction when companies like Meta responded by taking down hundreds of thousands of Arabic, English, and Hebrew posts, stating, "Meta's Sensitive Content Control allows people to choose how much sensitive content they see. In the three days following October 7, we removed or marked more than 795,000 pieces of content as disturbing. Hamas is designated under Meta’s Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy. This means Hamas is banned from our platforms, and we remove praise and substantive support for them when we become aware of it."

Critics argue that this over-censorship violates free expression and contributes to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Additionally, they contend that the censorship on Hamas serves as a shadow act to eliminate any pro-Palestinian content.?

Quds News Network, a Palestinian news agency allegedly affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, has been banned from Meta's Facebook. In an Instagram post, Quds stated, "Meta's takedown of our pages on Facebook is a clear acquiescence to the Israeli occupation's demands to suppress freedom of expression and silence the Palestinian narrative."?

?Several Arab Instagram and X users have raised concerns, with some noting a decrease in views and others reporting a complete absence of visibility. Additionally, certain accounts have been banned.

Emirati Influencer, posting from her X handle mythjourney, shared posts stating, "Here is evidence from various accounts of Insta forcibly blocking Palestinian-related stories." She further advised, "Encrypt... as much as you can, if you put pictures of flags, put them with strong editing filters or symbolic colours so that the AI will not recognize them."

Majed bin Saad (maabs.1) shared in an Instagram story, "It has been an hour since I posted my story and the number of viewers is still 0; it’s the first time I've seen this happening, and I think the reason is abundantly clear."?

Rajaa El Khatib (beatroot__) also shared her experience, saying, "My views dropped from 10k to barely 200 because I am talking about the situation in Israel; thank you, Meta, for trying to shut us up."?

Dana Alnaqbi (k7o.x), a Technical Technology expert, commented, "There is no clear reason for this algorithmic reaction, yet it clearly shows that when you post the name Palestine or Gaza, the post either gets deleted or the viewers get significantly lowered."?