Palestinian-American sues Meta after wrongful termination, alleging discrimination

A Palestinian American software engineer is suing Meta for wrongful termination and discrimination, alleging that his efforts to address the suppressi...

A Palestinian-American software engineer is suing Meta for wrongful termination and discrimination, alleging that his efforts to address the suppression of Palestinian posts on Instagram resulted in his dismissal earlier this year, in a complaint that accuses Meta of a"callus, chronic, and consistent anti-Palestinian bias.”

The complaint filed on behalf of Ferras Hamad in a California court on Tuesday alleges that he was "scrutinized, interrogated, and terminated because he was of Palestinian national origin and/or Muslim investigating a SEV” - or a "severe issue,” in the company’s internal lingo - related to the Instagram account of a Palestinian photojournalist documenting the war in Gaza.

Hamad did not receive such a response when handling content related to the war in Ukraine or other current events, the complaint notes.

The court filing also accuses Meta of removing posts in which employees mention the deaths of relatives in Gaza from Israeli airstrikes; launching investigations into the use of the Palestinian flag emoji; and deleting posts that drew attention to Palestinianrelatedcontent being censored, misclassified or removed, among other alleged discriminatory incidents.

Hamad’s suit places renewed scrutiny on Meta, which has been accused by Human Rights Watch of suppressing Palestinian voices on its platforms since the war in Gaza began.