Doha News spoke with Palestinian journalist Sarah Abu Alrob and Canadian media critic Sana Saeed about accountability in the digital sphere and the momentum of Palestinian resistance one year after October 7.

Since October 7, 2023, observers have reported systematic instances of pro-Palestine users experiencing a decline in engagement, often referred to as ‘shadow banning,’ or outright content deletion. Palestinian journalist Sarah Abu Alrob, from Jenin in the occupied West Bank, acknowledged that this issue persists but emphasised that Palestinian voices are still being heard.

“We have been facing oppression over the past year, and digital platforms have silenced us. At the same time, many people around the world are now looking for our voices that are missing within the mainstream narrative,” she told Doha News. Abu Alrob added that this situation has sparked renewed discussions about Zionism and its connections to Western imperialism and colonialism in the Middle East.

For instance, in August, Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, took to the X platform formerly known as Twitter to lambast Meta for acting as a “tool of oppression on behalf of the Israeli regime.” He further dubbed pro-Palestine censorship on Meta platforms as an insult to the struggles of the Palestinian people.

This came in the wake of the assassination of Hamas’ former political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in July. Prime Minister Ibrahim’s posts of condolences on Instagram and Facebook were taken down by the platform for featuring “dangerous individuals and organisations,” the platform flagged.

Meta’s policies and content moderation

The latest version of Meta’s Dangerous organisations and individuals policy prohibits the presence of “entities designated by the United States government as “Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTOs) or Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs)” on its platforms.

The Hamas movement has been a designated FTO by the U.S. government since 1997.

In 2022, the ​​Business for Social Responsibility network found a link between this approach and significantly greater over-enforcement and higher proactive detection rates for Arabic content in comparison to Hebrew content that may be in violation of its policy.

Furthermore, Meta’s current AI model for detecting violations examines whether an item of content goes against their policy. Their enforcement technology then determines whether the content is demoted, deleted or referred to Meta’s staff for human review.

Last year, a survey conducted by Human Rights Watch (HRW) found that Meta’s over reliance on automation to moderate its content was infringing on pro-Palestine social media users’ rights.

The tech giant later attributed Anwar’s condolences being scrubbed from their platform as “an operational error,” Reuters reported. However, this was not the first time such run in with the tech giant has had with the Malay premier.

In May, Fahmi Fadzil, the Malaysian Minister of Communications, levelled condemnation against Meta after it had removed a Facebook post from a local news outlet covering Ibrahim’s meeting with Hamas leaders, including the late Haniyeh and Khaled Mashal.

“We definitely see these patterns, especially on Meta, of the suppression of Palestinian-related content,” said Sana Saeed, a journalist and media critic formerly with AJ+. She also told Doha News that in her experience, outreach to her followers significantly dips when she posts pro-Palestinian content.

“But, as soon as it’s not Palestine-related, the engagement, the reach, the viewership exponentially increases,” Saeed told Doha News.

This has raised questions about Meta’s neutrality and consistency, especially in light of its response to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, where its policy actively suppresses content published by Russian state-controlled media.

In a similar vein to Malaysia, the Turkish government and Meta were also enveloped in a censorship row in the wake of Haniyeh’s death. This resulted in a nine-day nationwide block from August 2 to 10, which curtailed access to Instagram.

“This is censorship, pure and simple,” Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish Head of Communications at the Directorate of Communications, said in a statement via X at the time.

“As a Palestinian, I fully support any measures that challenge the colonial and imperialist Western systems that back the genocide against my people,” Abu Alrob, told  Doha News.

She added that Türkiye’s move sent a clear message to Meta and other digital platforms: “There are consequences for companies that are complicit in supporting the genocide in Palestine, especially when it comes to the censorship and oppression of Palestinian content”.

The future of pro-Palestine voices

On accountability of social media outlets in addressing users’ concerns about the censorship of pro-Palestinian content, Saeed argues that more should be done on their part. She added that the near future may likely feature more stringent digital controls.

“This is clear in the continued banning and taking down of posts from pro-Palestine accounts by digital platforms,” she said.

On August 19, The Cradle reported that it was not spared from Meta’s silencing of pro-Palestinian voices. Meta has since permanently banned the news outlet’s main Instagram and backup Facebook accounts for failing to comply with the platform’s community guidelines.

The Cradle also remarked that in the wake of Haniyeh’s assassination, the tech giant “significantly tightened its grip on free speech,” even against outlets simply reporting the events.

Beyond skewed policies from companies, Saeed also pointed to a future that may feature blurred lines between corporate and state censorship online. She referenced U.S. Senator Mitt Romney’s remarks in May about the “overwhelming” American political support for banning TikTok, linking it to the platform’s significant visibility of Palestinian voices, compared to other social media sites.

“We need platforms and algorithms that support our rights to access and discuss our narratives that continue to be suppressed,” Abu Alrob said.

She also acknowledged the harsh reality faced by Palestinians, saying, “It is true that we are a people that were, and sadly are, being ethnically cleansed and forcibly displaced by Israel, but we no longer want this to define us.”

This moment in history represents a shift, as activists and supporters harness the current momentum to amplify the broader context of the Palestinian cause. “Our cause did not start on the 7th of October,” Abu Alrob added. “It’s a 76-year-long struggle that continues to destroy all structures of our lives.”

She concluded: “Yes, we may be living in a miserable situation, but we are no longer victimised. We believe in what we are fighting for and we will remain resilient until the day we no longer need to struggle.”