Facebook Faces Scrutiny Over Alleged Bias in War Content Moderation
A BBC investigation uncovers significant disparities in Facebook's treatment of news from Palestinian and Israeli outlets amid the Israel-Gaza conflict.
In an era where battles are as much about controlling the narrative as they are about physical territory, Facebook's role in the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict has come under intense scrutiny.
A recent investigation by the BBC claims that the social media giant has significantly restricted Palestinian news, raising questions about fairness and transparency in its content moderation policies.
The inquiry, led by BBC's Arabic team, discovered that 20 newsrooms operating in Gaza and the West Bank reported a dramatic 77 percent slump in audience engagement following the outbreak of violence on October 7, 2023.
This metric, crucial for assessing the reach and influence of media content on social platforms, contrasts starkly with a 37 percent increase in engagement experienced by 20 Israeli news outlets, including prominent names like Yediot Ahronot and Israel Hayom.
For journalists like Tariq Ziad of Palestine TV, which saw a 60 percent drop in engagement despite a substantial follower count of 5.8 million, these restrictions have been particularly crippling.
"Interaction was completely restricted, and our posts stopped reaching people," Ziad lamented, capturing the frustration felt by many local journalists.
The BBC’s findings reveal a critical imbalance at a time when international journalists face mounting challenges in accessing Gaza due to Israeli-imposed constraints, making digital platforms indispensable for both local and global audiences.
This disparity has sparked alarming conversations regarding a 'war of narratives' on social media, where access to information can influence international perceptions and policy decisions.
Facebook's parent company Meta, no stranger to allegations of biased moderation practices concerning Palestinian content, has often been accused by human rights groups of "shadow banning"—reducing the visibility of particular voices without transparency.
In response, Meta has historically cited a simple 'lack of Arabic-speaking expertise among moderators' as a reason for inadvertent errors, which led to some non-violative Arabic content being flagged.
Diving deeper, the BBC compared engagement metrics from 30 Arabic news outlets on Facebook, revealing nearly a 100 percent engagement surge, further complicating Meta's narrative of non-deliberate actions.
Yet, in an attempt to refute claims of bias, Meta's spokesperson reiterated, "Any implication that we deliberately suppress a particular voice is unequivocally false."
Leaked internal communications reviewed by the BBC, however, suggest a different story from inside the tech giant's operations.
Shortly after hostilities erupted, Instagram's algorithm—also owned by Meta—was reportedly adjusted, a move one engineer claims biased the platform further against Palestinian content.
"Within a week of the Hamas attack, the code was changed, essentially making it more aggressive toward Palestinian people," the engineer noted.
Meta has since stated that such policy changes were reversed but has failed to specify when.
These revelations have fueled broader concerns about digital platforms' gatekeeping powers during crises, with similar instances reported by Arab News of pro-Palestinian content face sudden account suspensions or bans during critical times.
As the broader media landscape grapples with ensuring balanced and fair reporting, the grim toll of the conflict on journalists remains a haunting reminder of the cost of frontline reporting.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that the ongoing conflict has claimed 144 media workers' lives, 133 of whom were Palestinians, marking this period as one of the deadliest for the profession in recent history.
The alleged inequalities in Facebook's engagement figures amidst war not only cast a shadow over the platform's integrity but also highlight the immense responsibility that tech companies wield in shaping narratives during global conflicts.
As these platforms become ever more crucial conduits for information, the demand for accountability and impartiality in their operations grows ever louder.
A recent investigation by the BBC claims that the social media giant has significantly restricted Palestinian news, raising questions about fairness and transparency in its content moderation policies.
The inquiry, led by BBC's Arabic team, discovered that 20 newsrooms operating in Gaza and the West Bank reported a dramatic 77 percent slump in audience engagement following the outbreak of violence on October 7, 2023.
This metric, crucial for assessing the reach and influence of media content on social platforms, contrasts starkly with a 37 percent increase in engagement experienced by 20 Israeli news outlets, including prominent names like Yediot Ahronot and Israel Hayom.
For journalists like Tariq Ziad of Palestine TV, which saw a 60 percent drop in engagement despite a substantial follower count of 5.8 million, these restrictions have been particularly crippling.
"Interaction was completely restricted, and our posts stopped reaching people," Ziad lamented, capturing the frustration felt by many local journalists.
The BBC’s findings reveal a critical imbalance at a time when international journalists face mounting challenges in accessing Gaza due to Israeli-imposed constraints, making digital platforms indispensable for both local and global audiences.
This disparity has sparked alarming conversations regarding a 'war of narratives' on social media, where access to information can influence international perceptions and policy decisions.
Facebook's parent company Meta, no stranger to allegations of biased moderation practices concerning Palestinian content, has often been accused by human rights groups of "shadow banning"—reducing the visibility of particular voices without transparency.
In response, Meta has historically cited a simple 'lack of Arabic-speaking expertise among moderators' as a reason for inadvertent errors, which led to some non-violative Arabic content being flagged.
Diving deeper, the BBC compared engagement metrics from 30 Arabic news outlets on Facebook, revealing nearly a 100 percent engagement surge, further complicating Meta's narrative of non-deliberate actions.
Yet, in an attempt to refute claims of bias, Meta's spokesperson reiterated, "Any implication that we deliberately suppress a particular voice is unequivocally false."
Leaked internal communications reviewed by the BBC, however, suggest a different story from inside the tech giant's operations.
Shortly after hostilities erupted, Instagram's algorithm—also owned by Meta—was reportedly adjusted, a move one engineer claims biased the platform further against Palestinian content.
"Within a week of the Hamas attack, the code was changed, essentially making it more aggressive toward Palestinian people," the engineer noted.
Meta has since stated that such policy changes were reversed but has failed to specify when.
These revelations have fueled broader concerns about digital platforms' gatekeeping powers during crises, with similar instances reported by Arab News of pro-Palestinian content face sudden account suspensions or bans during critical times.
As the broader media landscape grapples with ensuring balanced and fair reporting, the grim toll of the conflict on journalists remains a haunting reminder of the cost of frontline reporting.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that the ongoing conflict has claimed 144 media workers' lives, 133 of whom were Palestinians, marking this period as one of the deadliest for the profession in recent history.
The alleged inequalities in Facebook's engagement figures amidst war not only cast a shadow over the platform's integrity but also highlight the immense responsibility that tech companies wield in shaping narratives during global conflicts.
As these platforms become ever more crucial conduits for information, the demand for accountability and impartiality in their operations grows ever louder.
