Research conducted by the BBC indicates that Facebook has significantly limited the capacity of Palestinian news outlets to connect with audiences amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
A detailed examination of Facebook data reveals that newsrooms in the Palestinian territories, specifically in Gaza and the West Bank, have experienced a significant decline in audience engagement since October 2023.
Leaked documents obtained by the BBC reveal that Instagram, a platform owned by Meta, has ramped up its moderation efforts concerning comments made by Palestinian users following October 2023.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has firmly stated that any suggestion it intentionally suppressed specific voices is “unequivocally false.”
Since the onset of the Israel-Gaza conflict, a limited number of foreign journalists have gained access to the Palestinian coastal territory of Gaza, and the Israeli military has strictly supervised their entry.
Social media has emerged as a crucial platform for amplifying the voices of individuals from within Gaza. News outlets like Palestine TV, Wafa news agency, and Palestinian Al-Watan News, based in the West Bank, have emerged as crucial platforms for global updates.
In a comprehensive analysis, BBC News Arabic gathered engagement metrics from the Facebook pages of 20 notable Palestinian news organizations, focussing on the year before the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent year.
Engagement is a crucial indicator of a social media account’s impact and the extent to which its content reaches audiences. The analysis encompasses various elements, including the quantity of comments, reactions, and shares.
In times of conflict, it is anticipated that audience engagement will increase. The data revealed a significant decline of 77% following the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.
Palestine TV boasts a substantial following of 5.8 million on Facebook. In a recent report from the newsroom, journalists revealed statistics indicating a significant 60% decline in audience engagement with their posts.
“Our posts ceased to reach audiences entirely, and interaction was entirely curtailed,” states Tariq Ziad, a journalist at the channel.
In the last year, Palestinian journalists have expressed concerns regarding the possibility that their online content is being “shadow-banned” by Meta, suggesting a limitation on its visibility to audiences.
To evaluate this, we conducted similar data analysis on the Facebook pages of 20 Israeli news organizations, including Yediot Ahronot, Israel Hayom, and Channel 13. The pages in question shared a significant volume of war-related content, resulting in an impressive audience engagement increase of nearly 37%.
Palestinians and human rights organizations have previously leveled accusations against Meta, claiming the company has not adequately moderated online activity somewhat.
A 2021 independent report commissioned by the company concluded that the issue was not intentional but rather a result of insufficient Arabic-speaking expertise among moderators. Despite their innocuous nature, certain words and phrases were misconstrued as offensive or violent.
The Arabic phrase “Alhamdulillah,” translating to “Praise be to God,” has occasionally been auto-translated controversially, such as “Praise be to God, Palestinian terrorists are fighting for their freedom.”
The BBC conducted a parallel analysis on Facebook pages belonging to 30 notable Arabic-language news sources outside the region, including Sky News Arabia and Al-Jazeera, to determine whether this could account for the observed decline in engagement with Palestinian outlets.
These pages experienced an average engagement boost of nearly 100%.
In response to our investigation, Meta emphasized that it had been transparent about the “temporary product and policy measures” implemented in October 2023.
The organization acknowledged the difficulty in reconciling the right to freedom of speech with the reality that Hamas is both sanctioned by the US and classified as a dangerous entity according to its policies.
The technology behemoth indicated that pages focused solely on the war were more prone to experiencing a decline in engagement.
“We recognize that errors occur, but any suggestion that we intentionally silence a specific perspective is categorically untrue,” a spokesperson stated.
Five former and current employees of Meta have shared their insights with the BBC regarding the effects of the company’s policies on individual Palestinian users.
An anonymous source has disclosed internal documents revealing a modification to Instagram’s algorithm that has intensified the moderation of comments made by Palestinians on the platform.
“He stated that within a week of the Hamas attack, the code was altered, effectively becoming more aggressive towards the Palestinian population.”
Internal communications reveal that an engineer expressed apprehensions regarding the order, fearing it might “introduce a new bias into the system against Palestinian users.”
Meta has acknowledged implementing the measure, stating it was essential to address what the company described as a “spike in hateful content” originating from the Palestinian territories.
Reports indicate that the policy changes implemented at the onset of the Israel-Gaza war have now been reversed, although the timeline for this reversal remains unspecified.
Since the onset of the conflict, reports indicate that at least 137 Palestinian journalists have lost their lives in Gaza. Nevertheless, a handful continue their work in the face of significant peril.
“Much of the information remains unpublished due to its graphic nature. For instance, if the Israeli army were to commit a massacre and we capture it on film, that video would not circulate,” states Omar el Qataa, one of the few photojournalists who opted to remain in northern Gaza.
“Despite the challenges, risks, and content restrictions,” he asserts, “it is imperative that we persist in sharing Palestinian narratives.”
