RAMALLAH, (PIC)
The Sada Social Center documented 650 violations of Palestinian digital content on social media platforms during July and August, amid the widespread dissemination of Israeli incitement.
The report stated that digital violations against Palestinian content have escalated, manifesting in instances of censorship and removal of pro-Palestinian content, including restrictions on Palestinians’ use of social media platforms, increased pressure on journalists, and complicating daily life by disrupting vital technological services by Israeli occupation authorities.
The center clarified that these violations are part of a broader context of ongoing Israeli genocide policies in Gaza for the past 11 months, where global tech companies enforce repressive policies against Palestinian voices to diminish their impact on digital platforms.
It emphasized that the restriction of Palestinian content during Israel’s war of genocide on Gaza reflects a continuation of the restrictive policies against Palestinian content that social media platforms have practiced for years.
While the center recorded over 650 cases of censorship and removal of content supportive of the Palestinian people, it noted the widespread presence of Israeli incitement content, particularly concerning the West Bank and the cities of Jenin and Tulkarem.
The center pointed out the increasing pressure on journalists and activists nominated for international awards, asserting that this reflects a determination to impose censorship rules and a clear bias in the platforms’ policies, casting further doubt on their commitment to neutrality and freedom of expression in the digital space.
The report also focused on censorship imposed on news content. Among the notable cases of censorship was the removal of images or videos related to the head of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Haneyya, after his assassination in Tehran, even when the images contained no political opinions or praise.
Meta platforms, particularly Facebook and Instagram, also banned the posting of images from protests bearing slogans like “Death to Israel” and “Death to America,” which affects “the ability of media institutions to operate professionally and violates these practices and fundamental principles of journalism, erasing the line between the right of journalists to report news and the right of users to adopt ideas freely and without restrictions.”
Meta has been one of the leading companies restricting Palestinian content, a trend that has persisted for years. The company has resorted to using “shadow banning” on Palestinian media pages. The Sada Social Center reported numerous complaints about reduced visibility and reach of Palestinian media pages without any clear official violations issued.
In contrast, the report noted that Meta lifted the ban on the term “martyr” while deciding to restrict the use of the term “Zionists” on its platforms, justifying that “the term is sometimes used to refer to Jews and Israelis in ways that dehumanize them or call for harm against them or deny their existence.”
The report highlighted a serious digital violation, wherein unidentified parties created fake accounts using journalists’ names and published their images with the intent to disseminate false information and damage their reputations. This situation has occurred nine times, posing a dual threat to journalists who face physical threats and attacks on their digital reputations.
In the context of fraud, the Sada Social Center noted an increase in the creation of fake pages impersonating local Palestinian banks, “which have been used for banking fraud against users.”
The report also pointed out that Israel disrupted Global Positioning System (GPS) services in several areas, significantly affecting Palestinians in transportation and delivery sectors. Additionally, Israel restricted communications with the Gaza Strip, including communication services like Skype, complicating communication with the besieged enclave.
Since October 2023, Israel has also disrupted mass texting services, increasing the difficulties Palestinians face in accessing their social media accounts. In the West Bank, the Israeli occupation replicated its strategy from Gaza by cutting communication and internet lines, applying it in Jenin during the military aggression in northern West Bank in an attempt to impose digital blackout on the population during incursions.
