Last Updated on 05/09/2024 by Arun jain
Facebook posts containing the phrase “from the river to the sea”. Always does not glorify Hamas and should be allowed to remain online, the company’s supervisory board has ruled.
The body – which includes Alan Rusbridger, a former Guardian editor – said the slogan should not be “automatically swept away” by moderators at technology giant Meta.
hate speech Campaigners have condemned the slogans – a shortened version of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – as anti-Semitic because they claimed it implied the destruction of the State of Israel. “From the river to the sea” has been adopted by Hamas and is used in the terrorist group’s official charter.
However, the Facebook panel, whose members include former Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, said the phrase “by itself and regardless of context” should not be construed as “harmful, violent or discriminatory”.
Pamela San Martin, co-chair of the board, said: “There has been an unacceptable and deeply disturbing rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia both online and offline. But context is crucial. Simply removing political speech is not the solution. There needs to be room for discussion, especially in times of crisis.
The board ruled that three posts containing the phrase should not be removed and “do not glorify Hamas”.
Users appealed to the moderation board after Meta originally refused to remove the posts. One post condemned the “senseless slaughter” in Gaza by the “Zionist state of Israel”.
In its decision, the board said that while the phrase “may be perceived by some as encouraging and legitimizing anti-Semitism and the violent eradication of Israel and its people, it is also often used as a political call for unity, equal rights and self-rights. Determination of the Palestinian people and to end the war in Gaza.
The board added that since the phrase has different meanings in different contexts, a blanket ban would “unacceptably impede protected political speech”.
While a majority of the board ruled that Meta had acted appropriately, a minority of its members argued that the technology giant should have “adopted the ground rule” of killing Hamas or its Israelis on October 7. Not public.
Meta included Hamas in its list of dangerous organizations in its moderation rules. It upgraded Hamas to a “Tier One” group in December, dropping the designation and legitimacy of the terrorist organization.
Post Facebook Oversight Board Says ‘From River to Sea’ Posts Don’t Glorify Hamas appeared first The Telegraph.