Facebook has ruled that posting ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ does not always glorify Hamas. Such posts should be allowed to remain online (The Daily Mail).
Facebook’s oversight board, whose members include the former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, decided that the slogan should not be ‘automatically removed’ by Meta‘s moderators.
Critics of the slogan claim that it is antisemitic, implying the destruction of the state of Israel. ‘From the river to the sea’ has been adopted by the Hamas and is even used in the group’s official charter.
Hamas has been categorised as a terrorist group in both the UK and the US. It is banned from Meta platforms.
However, the panel concluded that the phrase ‘from the river to the sea’ should not necessarily be understood as violent, harmful or discriminatory.
The phrase refers to the land between the Jordan River, which borders eastern Israel, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.
Reflecting on the decision, Pamela San Martin, the board’s co-chairman, said: “There has been an unacceptable and deeply disturbing rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on and offline.
“But context is crucial. Simply removing political speech is not a solution. There needs to be room for debate, especially during times of crisis.”
The board acknowledged that the phrase, which implicitly supports the violent elimination of Israel and its people, was “understood by some” as antisemitic. However, it also highlighted that the slogan is also used for solidarity, equal rights and self-determination of the Palestinian people.
The Oversight Board had reviewed three cases involving Facebook posts with ‘from the river to the sea’, concluding that they did not break Meta’s rules involving restrictions on hate speech and incitement.
The Board also said an outright ban on the phrase would interfere with political speech in ‘unacceptable ways’.
Nonetheless, a minority of the board argued that using the phrase in a post should be presumed to be glorifying a banned entity. This is because the slogan appears in Hamas’ 2017 charter.
The ruling noted: “Because the phrase does not have a single meaning, a blanket ban on content that includes the phrase, a default rule towards removal of such content, or even using it as a signal to trigger enforcement or review, would hinder protected political speech in unacceptable ways.”
A spokesperson for Meta said: “We welcome the board’s review of our guidance on this matter. While all of our policies are developed with safety in mind, we know they come with global challenges and we regularly seek input from experts outside Meta, including the Oversight Board.”
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