LONDON: Human Rights Watch is urging people to document and report online censorship related to the Israel-Palestine conflict, the organization said in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
The NGO said it had recorded incidences of censorship — including on Meta’s Instagram and Facebook — since Oct. 7, when Israel began its assault on Gaza.
Public reports submitted to HRW should include screenshots, the platform where content was shared, the country it was posted from, the form of censorship experienced (including removal or shadow ban), any notification from the platform, prior engagement figures, a URL to the affected account, appeal information and any other relevant details.
HRW vowed to “anonymize any information” that users send, adding that no content will be shared or published without the “explicit and informed consent” of the affected person.
Social media users have told Arab News that posts and accounts on platforms including TikTok, Meta’s Instagram and Musk’s X have been suspended or banned after sharing pro-Palestine content in the wake of Israel’s intense bombardment of Gaza.
In October, 48 organizations, including 7amleh, the Arab Center for Social Media Advancement, which advocates for the digital rights of Palestinians, issued a statement voicing concerns about “significant and disproportionate censorship of Palestinian voices through content takedowns and hiding hashtags, among other violations.”
The statement called on tech giants to respect the rights of Palestinians to freedom of expression, access to information, freedom of assembly and political participation.
Arab News also reported that an Israeli state advertising campaign had appeared on the feeds of many X users, in an apparent contravention of the platform’s policy guidelines.
