Social media giant Facebook has dramatically limited the reach of Palestinian news outlets during the Israel-Gaza war, according to a BBC investigation.
Analysis of Facebook engagement data revealed that Palestinian news organizations in Gaza and the West Bank experienced a 77% decline in audience interaction after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. This sharp drop occurred at a time when war coverage typically drives increased engagement.
The investigation examined data from 20 prominent Palestinian news outlets, including major organizations like Palestine TV, which has 5.8 million Facebook followers. Palestine TV reported their post visibility dropped by 60%, with journalist Tariq Ziad noting that "interaction was completely restricted, and our posts stopped reaching people."
In contrast, 20 Israeli news organizations saw their Facebook engagement rise by 37% during the same period. Similarly, 30 Arabic-language news outlets based outside the Palestinian territories experienced a nearly 100% increase in engagement.
Meta, Facebook's parent company, implemented what it called "temporary product and policy measures" in October 2023. The company stated it faced challenges balancing free speech rights with policies regarding Hamas, which is designated as a dangerous organization.
The BBC investigation also revealed that Instagram, another Meta-owned platform, increased moderation of Palestinian user comments after October 2023. Internal documents showed that engineers raised concerns about potential bias against Palestinian users in the modified algorithm.
Meta denied deliberately suppressing Palestinian voices, stating that "any implication that we deliberately suppress a particular voice is unequivocally false." The company acknowledged making mistakes and said policy changes implemented at the start of the conflict have been reversed, though no specific timeline was provided.
The restrictions come at a time when few outside journalists can access Gaza, making social media platforms a critical source of information from the region. Despite the challenges and content limitations, Palestinian journalists continue their efforts to share news from the conflict zone.