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Since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct.
7, misleading claims and doctored images have spread on Facebook
and other social media.
In the three days after the attack, Meta said it removed or
marked as disturbing more than 795,000 pieces of content in
Hebrew or Arabic.
Meta is also temporarily expanding its violence and incitement
policy and removing content that clearly identifies hostages
taken by Hamas, even if it is being done to condemn or raise
awareness of their situation.
Content with blurred images of victims is still allowed but the
company will prioritise the safety and privacy of kidnapping
victims if unsure or unable to make a clear assessment, it said.
Following the attack, Hamas has taken scores of Israeli and
foreign hostages to the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
Meta said it was aware of Hamas' threats to broadcast footage of
the hostages and it would swiftly remove any such content and
prevent copies being re-shared.
It is also lowering the threshold at which its technology takes
action to avoid recommending content that potentially violates
rules across its Facebook, Instagram and Threads platforms.
While Hamas is banned from the platforms, Meta allows social and
political discourse - such as news reporting, human rights
related issues, or academic, neutral and critical discussion.
The European Commission has pressured social media platforms to
remove illegal and harmful content to comply with its Digital
Services Act (DSA), a breach of which can result in big fines.
Meta's response contrasts with that of X, formerly known as
Twitter, which has asked the Commission to provide more
information of violations on its site. The Commission has opened
an investigation into X.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Mark
Potter)
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