Meta’s supervisory board has deemed acceptable an expression used in the case of the conflict between pro-Israelis and pro-Palestinians.
The battle of words is intensifying on social networks in the context of the conflict between Hamas and Israel. Some activists will indeed be able to freely use the expression “from the river to the sea”, used by supporters of the creation of a Palestinian state, on Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
That’s the decision made by Meta’s independent oversight board, which concluded that the phrase was not necessarily hate speech, NBC News reports.
A “solidarity” speech, not hateful
Three cases had given rise to this decision, when users had seen their messages not moderated for violation of the rules of the social network, despite reports for “hate” speech.
Those in favor of moderating this expression argue that it amounts to supporting a statement calling for the destruction of Israel, particularly since the attack of October 7. And for good reason: the area extending from the Jordan (the river in question) to the Mediterranean Sea, this slogan implicitly advocates for the end of the State of Israel.
But the company’s supervisory board says that’s not the case: “The board believes there is no indication that the comment or two posts violated Meta’s hate speech guidelines because they do not attack Jews or Israelis with calls for violence or exclusion, nor do they attack a concept or institution associated with a protected characteristic that could lead to imminent violence,” it said.
This expression ultimately amounts to highlighting “contextual signals of solidarity with the Palestinians.” In fact, this analysis therefore confirms Facebook’s decision, which had refused to remove the publications in question.
Meta, which is not necessarily obliged to follow the advice of this council, but generally applies them, has taken note of this report, explaining that it regularly seeks the advice of experts outside Meta, as well as that of its supervisory board, to develop its moderation policies.
