Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Meta of systematically censoring content that supports Palestine since October 7, the onset of the latest Israel-Gaza conflict. In its extensive 51-page report, HRW analyzed over a thousand cases where Meta was alleged to have deleted posts, disabled accounts, and restricted interactions across Facebook and Instagram. HRW highlighted six specific patterns of suppression, which included a drastic reduction in content visibility often referred to as "shadow banning".
Despite the global scale of these instances, including reports from over 60 countries, Meta has refuted claims it intentionally suppresses viewpoints. They admitted to mistakes due to policy enforcement challenges during conflicts and their reliance on automated moderation systems, but denied systemic censorship. Meta underscored its unique position as the only company releasing human rights assessments relevant to the Israel-Palestine issue.
This criticism of Meta isn't isolated. Recently, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren demanded explanations from CEO
Mark Zuckerberg following numerous user complaints about content demotion and shadow banning. Conversely, Meta's oversight board admitted errors in removing two videos that provided important insights into the conflict, leading to their restoration.
Allegations also point towards a technological bias within Meta's platforms, with examples such as Instagram's translation errors and WhatsApp's AI-generated images, which users claim demonstrate a skew towards pro-Israel content.