Gaza – MEMO. The BBC has uncovered evidence suggesting that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has limited the reach of Palestinian news outlets since October 2023.
An analysis of Facebook data has revealed a significant decline in audience engagement for newsrooms based in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since October 2023. The leaked documents also indicate that Instagram, another Meta platform, has stepped up moderation of Palestinian user comments after this date.
With on-the-ground reporting severely restricted as Israel has refused to allow international journalists into the enclave, social media has emerged as a crucial channel for updates from Gaza. The Facebook pages of broadcasters such as Palestine TV, Wafa News Agency e Al-Watan Newsoperating from the occupied West Bank, have become essential sources of information for audiences around the world, the BBC reported.
The BBC News Arabic analyzed the data of engagement on Facebook by 20 major Palestinian news organizations over a two-year period, covering the year before and after the escalation of Israel's military attack on Gaza.
“During a time of war, you would expect an increase in public involvement. However, the data showed a decline of 77% after October 7, 2023,” the report reads.
Palestine TVwhich has 5.8 million followers, has suffered a sharp decline in visibility. Journalists shared data showing a 60% drop in the number of people viewing their posts. “Interaction was completely limited and our posts stopped reaching people,” said the channel's journalist Tariq Ziad.
Over the past year, Palestinian journalists have expressed fears that their content is being “banned” from Meta, meaning its reach is deliberately limited.
To investigate, the BBC conducted a similar analysis of 20 Israeli newspapers, including Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel Hayom e Channel 13. These publications have also published a lot on Meta. These outlets published extensive reporting on the war, yet their audience engagement grew by nearly 37%.
Additionally, the BBC interviewed five current and former Meta employees about the impact of the company's policies on Palestinian users. One of them, speaking anonymously, shared leaked documents revealing that Instagram's algorithm was changed shortly after October last year, increasing moderation of Palestinian comments.
“Within a week of the Hamas attack, the code was changed making it essentially more aggressive towards the Palestinians,” he said. Internal communications also showed an engineer expressing concern that the update could introduce bias against Palestinians.
Meta confirmed the algorithm change, adding that it was justified by a “spike in hateful content” coming from the Palestinian territories. Meanwhile, the company said the measures had been reversed, but did not specify when this occurred.
Translation for InfoPal by FL
