Meta Platforms announced on Tuesday that it would expand its hate speech policy to remove more posts targeting “Zionists” when the term is used to refer to Jewish people and Israelis, rather than supporters of the political movement.
In a blog post, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, stated that it would take down content that attacks “Zionists” if it uses antisemitic stereotypes or threatens harm through intimidation or violence directed against Jews or Israelis. This policy adjustment aims to better address instances where the term “Zionist” is misused as a proxy for Jewish or Israeli individuals outside of the political context.
Meta’s existing hate speech policy prohibits direct attacks on individuals based on protected characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, disability, and gender identity. However, the company recognized that its previous guidelines, which only treated the term “Zionist” as a proxy for Jewish or Israeli people in two specific instances, were insufficient to tackle broader misuse.
The policy update comes after consultations with 145 stakeholders from civil society and academia worldwide. This decision is particularly relevant as tensions in the Middle East escalate amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza.
Meta has faced longstanding criticism regarding its handling of content related to the Middle East. These criticisms have intensified following the outbreak of the current war, with rights groups accusing the company of suppressing content supportive of Palestinians on Facebook and Instagram.
It’s easy to see how such measures can be used to silencing legitimate criticism of Israeli action in Gaza and West Bank considering how heated arguments regarding such sensitive topics on social media usually get. However it stays unclear how strictly and effectively will the new guidelines be enforced.
