BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch accused Meta on Thursday of restricting pro-Palestinian content on Facebook and Instagram, decrying “systemic online censorship” since Israel’s ensuing military campaign in Gaza.

“Meta’s policies and practises have been silencing voices in support of Palestine and Palestinian human rights on Instagram and Facebook in a wave of heightened censorship of social media,” the New York-based group said in a report released on Thursday.

“Meta’s censorship of content in support of Palestine adds insult to injury at a time of unspeakable atrocities and repression already stifling Palestinians’ expression,” said Deborah Brown, acting associate director of HRW’s technology and human rights division.

On Tuesday, Meta’s independent oversight board had already criticised the social media titan for removing posts that showed human suffering in the conflict.HRW pointed to “systemic online censorship”, reporting more than 1,050 “takedowns and other suppression of content” on Instagram and Facebook from over 60 countries during October and November.

The content in question was posted by “Palestinians and their supporters, including about human rights abuses”.

“While this appears to be the biggest wave of suppression of content about Palestine to date, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has a well-documented record of overbroad crackdowns on content related to Palestine,” the report added.

Hundreds of people continued to report censorship after the organisation completed its analysis, “meaning that the total number of cases Human Rights Watch received greatly exceeded 1,050,” it added. Of the 1,050 cases reviewed, 1,049 involved “peaceful content in support of Palestine that was censored or unduly suppressed, while one case involved removal of content in support of Israel,” HRW said.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2023