Meta is considering expanding and “reconsidering” its hate speech policy, which revolves around the term “Zionist”, The Guardian has confirmed. The company on Friday contacted and met with more than a dozen Arab, Islamic and pro-Palestinian groups to discuss the company’s plans to review its policies to ensure the term “Zionist” is no longer used as a substitute for Jewish or Israeli. Ta. According to an email seen by the Guardian.
According to an email sent by Meta representatives to invited groups, current policy allows for the use of “Zionist” in “political discussions, but it does not refer to Jewish people in an inhumane or violent manner.” “It will be removed if it is used explicitly on behalf of or on behalf of Israelis.” Go to Friday’s meeting. The email also stated that the company was considering a review in light of recent posts reported by users and “stakeholders,” the Meta representative wrote.intercept first reported Possible policy changes.
In an email to another organization, a Meta representative said the company’s current policy does not allow users to attack others based on protected characteristics such as nationality or religion. , said the policy “requires a current understanding of what language people use to refer to them.” Features”.
“The term ‘Zionist’ often refers to the ideology of an unprotected individual, but it can also refer to Jews and Israelis,” the email said. “Given the increase in polarized public discourse due to current events in the Middle East, we believe it is important to evaluate guidelines for vetting posts that use the term ‘Zionist.’”
Organizations participating in the discussions, including MPower Change, 7amleh, and Jewish Voice for Peace, expressed deep concerns at the meeting that the changes would lead to further censorship of pro-Palestinian voices. Several reports commissioned by 7amleh and Human Rights Watch, as well as a report commissioned by Mehta, confirmed that Palestinian accounts have been compromised for years. Systematically silenced and oppressed on a platform owned by Meta.
Linda Sarsour, executive director of Muslim advocacy group MPower Change, said Peter Stern, Meta’s director of content policy and stakeholder engagement, asked why the company is reviewing its policy now and what it means. He gave few details on whether the measures would be implemented or enforced. Don’t suppress political expression. “If we already have a policy that treats Zionism as a proxy, why are we having this conversation? Why would we consider expanding this policy further?” Sarsour said. said.
The group also asked how such policies would be implemented, including whether human or meta algorithms, which have been criticized for unfairly censoring Palestinian-related content, would be used to detect and censor such language. He also questioned whether it would be enforced.
“AI-powered systems that flag posts in the first place are flawed; there is no human review until it is too late,” said Abed Ayoub, national executive director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. This organization was one of the organizations present at the meeting with Meta.
Ahead of the meeting, 73 organizations sent a letter to Mehta saying the proposed policy expansion “too easily mischaracterizes Zionists, and by extension the conversation about Zionism, as inherently anti-Semitic. Therefore, treating “Zionists” as a proxy would also encourage false and unjust discrimination.” It is a harmful conflation of criticism of the actions of the Israeli state and anti-Semitism. ”
“This movement is an opportunity for Palestinians to share their daily experiences, whether it’s a photo of the keys to their grandparents’ house lost in a Zionist militia attack in 1948, or records and evidence of acts of genocide in Gaza over the past few years. “It was approved by the Israeli Cabinet, which includes members of the Religious Zionist Party,” the letter said. “And it would prevent Jewish users from discussing their relationship to Zionist political ideology.”
Sarsour said Meta gave examples of posts that would be removed. Sarsour said that included a post calling Zionists rats, but “this post will obviously be removed because of the historical metaphor and demonization of Jews as rats.” Ta. Examples of posts about Zionists taking someone’s land will not be removed, she recalled in the presentation.
While these specific content moderation decisions may be acceptable to Sarsour’s organization, Meta has so far had a solid track record of protecting Palestinian and pro-Palestinian users and speech. I don’t have one, Sarsour said.
In the letter, the groups also expressed concern about the lack of response to the surge in censorship of pro-Palestinian content and hate speech, which has reached an all-time high since the war in Gaza began. It is said that it is. Since the start of the recent conflict, and even in the past, there have been widespread reports of Meta suppressing pro-Palestinian content. Independent analysis commissioned by Meta concluded In 2022, the company’s social network was accused of violating Palestinian human rights by censoring content related to Israel’s attacks on Gaza. In December 2023, Sen. Elizabeth Warren told Mark Zuckerberg that such content has been repeatedly censored or suppressed following the October 2023 Hamas attack that escalated the recent conflict. He asked them to answer questions about the report.
There is no comparable effort to propose language related to Zionism. The organizations reiterated that protecting Palestinians is important and that expanding censorship of Zionists and posts about Zionism will not effectively dismantle anti-Semitism.
“Not only is this proposal ineffective in combating anti-Semitism, but multiple courts and human rights experts around the world have recognized the plausibility that genocide is occurring in Gaza, and ordered all international actors to “We will do everything we can to prevent further harm,” the letter said.
In response to a request for comment, Meta spokesperson Corey Chambliss shared a previous statement regarding the “increasing polarized public debate.” He added that Meta is considering whether and how it can expand its nuanced response to such language and will continue to consult with stakeholders to improve the policy. .
Policy discussions take place during high-stakes periods of conflict, and accurate information and its dissemination can have far-reaching effects. More than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed since the attack on Gaza began in October 2023.
“Implementing a policy like this in the midst of a genocide is extremely problematic,” Ayoub said, adding that his organization has received reports of censorship and suspended accounts from numerous users of the Meta platform. Ta. “Add this policy to the mix and it will make things 10 times worse. It will cause untold harm to our community.”
