Beyond the Headlines Are Palestinians being censored by social media?
May 27, 2021
19:26
For 11 days rockets rained down on Gaza in the latest escalation of a conflict that has gone on for nearly three quarters of a century. More than 250 people were killed as homes were destroyed and livelihoods shattered.
But the battle wasn’t only taking place over Gaza and Israel; online a separate but connected fight broke out freedom of expression. Palestinians turned to social media in the hope of bringing attention to the mounting death toll in Gaza. In East Jerusalem, families facing eviction from their homes to make way for Israeli settlers in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood logged in to tell their stories.
Others tried to post videos from Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and around the world supporters shared messaged of solidarity. But posts were disappearing, often without explanation. Accounts were suspended. Hashtags were blocked. Palestinians, already living within the walled confines of Gaza and the West Bank, said they found a wall of restrictions put up by the social media platforms they thought would empower them.
On this week's Beyond the Headlines, host James Haines-Young asks, are social media companies censoring pro-Palestinian posts?
But the battle wasn’t only taking place over Gaza and Israel; online a separate but connected fight broke out freedom of expression. Palestinians turned to social media in the hope of bringing attention to the mounting death toll in Gaza. In East Jerusalem, families facing eviction from their homes to make way for Israeli settlers in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood logged in to tell their stories.
Others tried to post videos from Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and around the world supporters shared messaged of solidarity. But posts were disappearing, often without explanation. Accounts were suspended. Hashtags were blocked. Palestinians, already living within the walled confines of Gaza and the West Bank, said they found a wall of restrictions put up by the social media platforms they thought would empower them.
On this week's Beyond the Headlines, host James Haines-Young asks, are social media companies censoring pro-Palestinian posts?