BBC Accuses Facebook of Limiting Palestinian News During Israel-Gaza War

[Social Media]

 

Facebook has faced significant criticism for limiting the reach of Palestinian news outlets during the Israel-Gaza conflict, as revealed by BBC research. Analyzing Facebook data, the BBC found that audience engagement for newsrooms in Gaza and the West Bank experienced a dramatic decline, starting in October 2023.  

 

A BBC Arabic investigation highlights that prominent Palestinian-based news organizations suffered a 77% drop in engagement following the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. Engagement, which includes metrics such as comments, reactions, and shares, is a key indicator of the visibility and impact of social media content. During wartime, engagement is generally expected to rise as audiences seek updates. However, the opposite occurred for these newsrooms.  

 

Palestine TV, one of the affected outlets, reported a 60% drop in the visibility of its posts, despite having a substantial following of 5.8 million people. “Interaction was completely restricted, and our posts stopped reaching people,” said journalist Tariq Ziad, reflecting broader frustrations among Palestinian journalists. Many have accused Meta, Facebook’s parent company, of “shadow-banning” their content, restricting how many users can see it.  

 

Meta has denied allegations of deliberate suppression. The company acknowledged implementing "temporary product and policy measures" in October 2023, citing challenges in balancing freedom of speech while addressing the designation of Hamas as a US-sanctioned and dangerous organization under Meta’s policies. “We acknowledge we make mistakes, but any implication that we deliberately suppress a particular voice is unequivocally false,” a Meta spokesperson stated.  

 

Leaked documents suggest that Instagram, another Meta-owned platform, modified its algorithm shortly after the October 2023 attacks, intensifying moderation of comments from Palestinian users. According to an anonymous source, this algorithmic adjustment made moderation “more aggressive towards Palestinian people.” Internal communications reveal that an engineer within the company raised concerns about the change, warning it could introduce bias against Palestinian users.  

 

Meta confirmed the change but argued it was a necessary response to a surge in “hateful content” emerging from the Palestinian territories. This acknowledgment adds to the broader debate over the role of social media companies in moderating content during sensitive geopolitical events.  

 

While Meta maintains that it has not intentionally suppressed any voices, the sharp decline in engagement for Palestinian news organizations raises questions about the unintended consequences of its content moderation policies. These developments have intensified concerns among journalists and activists about the fairness and transparency of Meta’s actions in conflict zones.  

 

Based on a report by BBC 2024-12-19

 

 

 

[Bkk Brian]

5 hours ago, Social Media said:

A BBC Arabic investigation highlights

Says it all, the most unreliable service in the BBC for the Gaza conflict now trying to expose Facebook for their curbs on hate and terrorist supporters of Hamas.

[JonnyF]

Seems the BBC is upset that Palestine and their "freedom fighters" as the BBC likes to call Hamas, are not getting the same propaganda on FaceBook that the BBC affords them.  

[stevenl]

This is the issue.

"These developments have intensified concerns among journalists and activists about the fairness and transparency of Meta’s actions in conflict zones. "

It goes imo beyond Meta.

[Bkk Brian]

 

 

A very small example of BBC Arabic

 

Head of BBC Global Service ‘Told Journalists That Hamas Is No Less Credible Than Israel & October 7 Attack Should Not Be Called a Massacre’