Instagram / Facebook / Meta Censoring Palestinian Voices During Latest Israeli Siege on Gaza

[Screenshot of what had been Afaf Ahmed's Instagram account until October 15, 2023. Error message reads: Sorry, this page isn't available.]


As long as Facebook has been around, at least since it purchased an Israeli company called Onavo and opened its first office in Tel Aviv, the censorship of Palestinians has been a grave issue. Mark Zuckerberg and top Facebook executives have repeatedly met with Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli govenment leaders. On occasion, Facebook employees have spoken out against the practice, but, evidently, their voices are not enough to stop the suppression.

Israeli intelligence and security forces seem to have a direct line to Meta and regularly complain about Palestinian accounts — conflating posts about the struggle for Palestinian freedom or anti-zionism with incitement to violence or terrorism — and the Facebook group of companies then obsequiously ban many if not most of the accounts.

It's part and parcel of the larger project of hiding the Israel occupation from the world's eyes by targeting and attacking journalists in the West Bank and Gaza, suppressing the freedom of speech of Palestinians or those who would tell their stories. The IDF has killed 11 journalists in Gaza in just the last week. And that doesn't even count the Reuters videographer killed in southern Lebanon by Israeli shelling.

The disinformation of a single genocidal Israeli settler and IDF Deputy Commander makes international news, but individual Palestinians struggle to be heard, at all. They simply are not allowed to freely tell their stories in their own words

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Rather than recount the entire story of Meta silencing Palestinian voices in this post, here are a list of recent and older references you might find useful for learning more.

People are accusing Instagram of shadowbanning content about Palestine
Meta chalked up the issue to a bug. But users say their posts about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza have been silenced.
October 16, 2023
https://mashable.com/article/instagram-shadowbanning-censor-israel-palestine

Israel-Gaza: Social media users accuse Meta’s Instagram of censorship of pro-Palestinian posts
Social media users have complained that posts and accounts have been suspended or banned due to their pro-Palestinian content in the wake of Israel’s intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
October 15, 2023
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2391676/media

Meta 'taking steps' to censor support for Palestinian resistance
The European Commission has been leading the charge to silence voices that support Palestinians online just as EU governments are banning pro-Palestine rallies
Oct 13, 2023
https://new.thecradle.co/articles/meta-taking-steps-to-censor-support-for-palestinian-resistance

Facebook Report Concludes Company Censorship Violated Palestinian Human Rights
The report, due out tomorrow, said Facebook and Instagram showed bias against Palestinians during a brutal Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip last May.
September 21 2022
https://theintercept.com/2022/09/21/facebook-censorship-palestine-israel-algorithm/

New platform documents digital censorship of Palestinians
Groups say online tool is more relevant now than ever in light of recent mass censorship of Palestinian content in May.
Nov 2, 2021
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/2/palestinians-launch-tool-to-document-digital-abuses-against-them

Israel/Palestine: Facebook Censors Discussion of Rights Issues
Independent Investigation, Alignment with International Standards Needed
October 8, 2021
https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/08/israel/palestine-facebook-censors-discussion-rights-issues

Systematic Digital Repression: Social Media Censoring of Palestinian Voices
Whereas mainstream media bias in reporting on Palestine and Israel is nothing new, the phenomenon of social media censorship represents a growing and significant concern with regard to human rights and freedom of expression.
Jun 8, 2021
https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/systematic-digital-repression-social-media-censoring-of-palestinian-voices/

Amid Israeli–Palestinian Violence, Facebook Employees Are Accusing Their Company Of Bias Against Arabs And Muslims
As Facebook contends with internal allegations of censorship, unequal enforcement, and pro-Israel bias, employees are worried it is once again bungling a politically charged issue with potential for violence.
May 27, 2021
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/facebook-employees-bias-arabs-muslims-palestine

Gaza-based journalists say their accounts blocked by WhatsApp
The latest move by Facebook left Palestinian users and their allies wondering if they had been singled out for censorship.
May 25, 2021
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/25/israel-blocks-whatsapp-accounts-of-gaza-journalists

Social Media Giants Continue to Collaborate with Israel’s Illegal ‘Cyber Unit’
The State Attorney’s unit operates outside the law to censor Facebook & YouTube posts; 2017 saw 500% increase in posts censored as a result of Cyber Unit’s action.
Dec 23, 2018
https://imemc.org/article/social-media-giants-continue-to-collaborate-with-israels-illegal-cyber-unit/

PPC: 500 Palestinians Detained over Facebook Posts
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Centre for Studies (PPC) says that Israel has detained some 500 Palestinians, including women and children, as a result of their social media posts
May 15, 2018
https://imemc.org/article/ppc-500-palestinians-detained-over-facebook-posts/

5 Palestinians from Jerusalem Indicted for Social Media ‘Incitement’
Five Palestinian residents of occupied East Jerusalem were indicted by an Israeli court on charges of “incitement” on social media
Jul 31, 2017
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2017/07/31/18801187.php

Video: Israel Acknowledges Use of Computer Algorithm for Palestinian Arrests
Mass detentions of over 400 Palestinians were the result of a computer algorithm based on their social media usage
https://imemc.org/article/video-israel-acknowledges-use-of-computer-algorithm-for-palestinian-arrests/
Apr 27, 2017

Facebook ‘blocks accounts’ of Palestinian journalists
Account suspensions come on heels of agreement between social media giant and Israel to team up against “incitement”.
Sep 25, 2016
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/9/25/facebook-blocks-accounts-of-palestinian-journalists

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Here are Afaf Ahmed's most recent video reports before Instagram banned her account:

Loved Ones Lost and Over a Million Palestinians Ordered by Israel to Leave Their Homes in Gaza
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/10/15/18859599.php

A Tiny Glimpse of the Terrors We Are Living in Gaza
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/10/14/18859596.php

Almost Out of Water, Food, and Fuel, What Israel Is Doing to the Gaza Strip Is Genocide
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/10/11/18859525.php