Meta Platforms have restored Facebook posts by Malaysian media that covered Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s meeting with a Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, at a hotel in Doha on May 14, 2024.
The removal of these posts had drawn complaints from Malaysia’s government, which strongly supports the Palestinian cause. They have warned that firm action could be taken against Meta and other social media companies if they were to continue blocking pro-Palestinian content on their platforms.
Malaysia Takes Action
Malaysia, being a Muslim-majority country, has sent a letter to Meta asking to explain why it took down the posts by two media organisations about the meeting. They raised concerns about the closure of a Facebook account last month belonging to a third outlet, the Malaysia Gazette, which covers Palestinian issues.
“Two posts were removed in error and have now been restored,” a Meta spokesperson clarified in an email to Reuters.
On Wednesday, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, who also serves as the government’s spokesperson, criticized the removal of the posts. He accused US organisations of not respecting the freedom of media outlets.
Malaysia has strongly advocated a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians for a long time.
Meta has said it does not deliberately suppress voices on its Facebook platform, adding there was “no truth” to the claim that they are restricting content in support of the Palestinians.
Meta’s policy on the Hamas Content
Meta designated Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that governs Gaza, as a “dangerous organisation” and bans content that promotes or praises the group. To enforce this policy, a combination of automated detection and human review is employed to remove or appropriately label graphic visuals.