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#FBFightsPalestine

February 22, 2018 at 3:29 pm

Activists launched a media campaign to condemn Facebook’s targeting of pages which support Palestinian rights [Quds Network]

Activists launched the #FBFightsPalestine media campaign against Facebook (FB) this week to condemn Facebook’s deliberate targeting of pages which support Palestinian rights.

Social media users across Twitter and Facebook used the hashtag #FBFightsPalestine to draw attention to the campaign. Coordinated by Sada Social Centre, the campaign began on Tuesday evening this week with the hopes of educating people about Facebook’s recent treatment of Palestinian content and the extent of its violations.

The group is hoping to take legal action against Facebook through various international institutions that focus on freedom of opinion and expression as well as on social media.

“Facebook acknowledged that in 2017 it responded positively to 90 percents [sic] of requests from the Israeli occupation to remove Palestinian pages, accounts or materials from the website,” Twitter user Danny Wilde (@QudsNen) wrote.

https://twitter.com/MuneLoveGlim/status/966660265201856512

Others decided to protest to FB by selecting “I don’t feel safe option” to raise awareness.

“The Facebook administration continues to disregard the rights of Palestinian subscribers through its site, which has encouraged other sites such as YouTube to pursue their approach of deleting accounts,” @WaelAboOmer Tweeted.

@RichardHardigan Tweeted: “4 million uncensored inciting & racist statements made by Israelis against Palestinians 2015-2016,” and how there had been “100 violations against Palestinian content since the beginning of 2018.”

Ruba condemned the actions by the social media giant.

https://twitter.com/Rubash211/status/966535168814133249

“Palestinians are already occupied, besieged, and imprisoned. We must stop Facebook from becoming a new prison to them in the virtual world!” one Tweeter wrote.

https://twitter.com/P7hw2xJTQZIE9kB/status/966392401165242370

“Article 19 of the UDHR states that: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers,” Alaa Haimour wrote.

https://twitter.com/AlaaMHaimour/status/966385634251288577

Users also took to Facebook to voice their condemnation of its policies.

Quds News Network described blocking of Facebook accounts about Palestine as a “blatant violation against the right to freedom of expression”.

Last year, Facebook was said to have committed 200 violations against Palestinians including the closure and blocking of Palestinian pages and accounts and the deletion of photographs and posts.