Meta, the Silicon Valley giant, recently apologised for mistakenly deleting social media posts on Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s accounts expressing solidarity with Hamas. The posts were removed in error but have now been restored with the correct label.
After Ibrahim’s posts offering condolences for Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination were taken down, Malaysia demanded an explanation from Meta, calling the action discriminatory and unjust. This incident marks the second clash between the Malaysian government and Meta over censorship issues.
Rights groups have accused Meta of censoring pro-Palestine voices during the conflict in Gaza. A Human Rights Watch report revealed a pattern of removing pro-Palestine content. Meta has denied deliberately suppressing voices, citing technical bugs as the cause of past issues.
Despite Meta’s claim of fair application of policies, questions remain regarding the censorship of Palestinian content. As the debate continues, it raises concerns about the regulation of free expression on social media platforms.