US, France call for ‘utmost restraint’ in Middle East

London: Tech giant Meta recently announced that it will begin removing social media posts that use the word “Zionist” in contexts where it refers to the Jewish people and Israelis, rather than representing supporters of a political movement, in a bid to curb anti-Semitism on its platforms.

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram previously said it would remove the ban on the single most moderate word in Meta — “martyr,” or “martyr” in English — across all platforms after its oversight board found the approach after a year-long review. “Overbroad.”

Similarly, TikTok, X and Telegram have pledged to step up efforts to prevent the spread of hate speech and misogyny on their platforms against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza.

These initiatives are aimed at creating a safer, less toxic online environment. However, as experts consistently point out, these efforts are often weak, resulting in empty promises and a worrying tendency towards censorship.

“In short, social media platforms have not been very good at avoiding censorship or preventing hate speech and disinformation about the war in Gaza,” Nadim Nassif, founder and director of 7amleh, a digital rights and human rights activist group for Palestinians, told The Arab. News.

“All-out conflict, censorship and account takedowns have also jeopardized efforts to document human rights violations on the ground.”

Nassif says that hate speech and incitement to violence remain “pervasive,” particularly on Meta's platform and X, where anti-Semitic and Islamophobic content “continues to circulate widely.”

Since the October 7th Hamas-led offensive that ignited the conflict in Gaza, social media has been flooded with content related to the war. In many instances it has served as an important window into dramatic events in the region and has been an important source of real-time news and accountability for Israeli operations.

Profiles supporting the actions of both Hamas and the Israeli government have been accused of sharing misleading and hateful content.

However, none of the social media platforms, including messaging apps such as Meta, YouTube, X, TikTok, or Telegram, have publicly outlined policies on conflict-related hate speech and incitement to violence.

Instead, these platforms are filled with war propaganda, inhumane speech, genocidal rhetoric, blatant calls to violence, and racist hate speech. In some cases, platforms are removing pro-Palestinian content, blocking accounts, and sometimes banning users who support the people of Gaza.

On Friday, Turkey's communications authority blocked access to Meta-owned social media platform Instagram. Local media outlets said access was blocked in response to Instagram removing posts by Turkish users mourning the recent assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Earlier in the day, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim accused Metta of cowardice after removing his Facebook post on Hanieh's murder. “Let this serve as a clear and unequivocal message to Metta: stop this display of cowardice,” wrote Anwar, who has repeatedly condemned Israel's war on Gaza and its actions in the occupied West Bank, on his Facebook page.

Meanwhile, footage of Israeli soldiers allegedly blowing up mosques and houses, burning copies of the Koran, torturing and humiliating blindfolded Palestinian prisoners, tying them to the bonnets of military vehicles and celebrating war crimes is freely available on mobile screens.

“Historically, platforms have been very bad at moderating content about Israel and Palestine,” Nassif said. “During the war in Gaza, and the ongoing potential carnage, this is only amplified.”

A Human Rights Watch report titled “Meta's Broken Promises” published in December accused the firm of practicing “systematic online censorship” and “inconsistent and opaque application of its policies” and silencing voices in support of Palestine and Palestinian human rights. Rights on Instagram and Facebook.

The report added that Meta's behavior “failed to meet its human rights due diligence responsibilities” due to years-long failed promises to address its “overbroad crackdown”.

Jacob Mukherjee, coordinator of the Political Communication MA program at Goldsmiths, University of London, told Arab News: “I don't know to what extent you can really say they're trying to stop censorship.

“Meta promised to conduct various reviews – which, before October 7 last year – have been promising for a few years since the last escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2021.

“But as far as I can see, not much has changed, strictly speaking. They've had to respond to suggestions that they've engaged in censorship, of course, but that's mainly a PR effort in my opinion.”

Between October and November 2023, Human Rights Watch documented more than 1,050 takedowns and other suppressions of content posted by Palestinians and their supporters on Instagram and Facebook, including content about human rights violations.

1,049 of those included peaceful content in support of Palestine that was censored or otherwise suppressed unnecessarily, while in one case content in support of Israel was removed.

However, censorship seems to be only part of the issue.

7amleh's Violence Index, which monitors real-time data on social media platforms in Hebrew and Arabic for violent content, has recorded more than 8.6 million such content since the start of the conflict.

Nashif says the proliferation of violent and harmful material, mainly in the Hebrew language, is largely due to insufficient investment in moderation.

The content, which has primarily targeted Palestinians on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, was used as evidence by South Africa in its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Metta is arguably not alone in bearing responsibility for what South African lawyers describe as the first massacre broadcast live on mobile phones, computers and television screens.

X has also faced accusations from supporters of both Palestine and Israel of giving free rein to handles known to spread disinformation and doctored images, often shared by prominent political and media figures.

“A major problem with current content moderation systems is the lack of transparency,” Nassif said.

“When it comes to AI, platforms do not release clear and transparent information about when and how AI systems are implemented in the content moderation process. Policies are often opaque and allow platforms a great deal to do as they see fit.”

For Mukherjee, the issue of moderation happening behind the smokescreen of murky policies is strictly political, requiring these companies to take a “balanced” approach between political pressure and “managing the expectations and desires of the user base”.

He said: “These AI tools can be used to insulate the real power holders, namely the people who run the platforms, from criticism and accountability, which is a real problem.

“These platforms are private monopolies that are essentially responsible for regulating a significant part of the political public sphere.

“In other words, they are helping to shape and regulate the arena in which conversations take place, in which people form their opinions, from which politicians feel the pressure of public opinion, and yet they are completely unresponsive.”

Although there have been instances of pro-Palestinian content being censored or removed, as revealed by Arab News in October, these platforms made it clear before the Gaza conflict that it was not in their best interest to ultimately remove content from their platforms.

“These platforms are not built for reasons of public interest or to ensure that we have an informed and educated public that is exposed to a range of viewpoints and is equipped to make informed decisions and form opinions,” Mukherjee said.

“The fact is that business models actually want there to be more content and if that's pro-Palestinian content, so be it. It's ultimately still getting eyeballs and engagement on the platform, and content that evokes strong emotion, to use industry terms, getting engagement. does, and that means data and that means money.”