Advocates demand Facebook end ‘blatant’ Palestinian censorship

Rights groups demand answers amid widespread reports of Palestinian users and content being censored on social media.

Rights groups and Palestine advocates are demanding answers from Facebook after multiple reports that the social media giant has censored Palestinian content on its platforms, especially during the recent Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and occupied East Jerusalem. In a letter to Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg on Wednesday, dozens of organisations said they were “angered and disturbed by the recent censorship of Palestinian users and their supporters on your platforms”. Earlier this month, Palestinian social media users reported that their posts on Facebook and Instagram – which is owned by Facebook – in solidarity with families facing forced expulsions from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah had been blocked, hidden or deleted.