According to research recently released by the BBC, Facebook is inhibiting news coming from the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank while boosting Israel’s news. The findings indicate a disparity in how content is moderated on the platform. Additionally, BBC said that leaked documents show Instagram, which is also owned by Facebook’s parent company, Meta, moderated Palestinian users’ comments more heavily after October 2023.
Users have reported that Palestinian sources face significant restrictions, raising concerns about freedom of expression on online platforms. In response, Meta called accusations that it deliberately suppressed users “unequivocally false.”