Leaked data reveals Israeli govt campaign to remove pro-Palestine posts on Meta

Meta’s Takedowns and Alleged Bias

• Commenters focus on Meta’s reported 94% compliance with Israeli takedown requests and ~90k removed posts, often within seconds and without human review.
• The linked Human Rights Watch report is repeatedly cited: in its sample, almost all removed items were described as peaceful pro‑Palestine content; critics note this is a non‑random sample and may be biased.
• Examples mentioned include posts with Gaza casualty images, Palestinian flags, or criticism of civilian killings removed under “nudity”, “violence”, or “harassment” rules, while calls to “flatten Gaza” reportedly stayed up.
• Some argue the underlying standard (no praise/incitement of terrorism) is legitimate; others stress selective enforcement against one side is the core problem.

Sources, Credibility, and Burden of Proof

• One thread attacks HRW’s credibility via Gulf funding and past ethical lapses; others call this whataboutism and “dog whistle” politics.
• A recurring argument: those with the logs (Meta, Israeli authorities) could release redacted examples to rebut the allegations; their opacity is taken by some as circumstantial evidence.
• Dispute over burden of proof: some say accusers must show wrongful takedowns; others respond that when content is erased and no appeal exists, the bar should instead be high for censors.

Experiences of Suppression

• Several users report pro‑Palestinian posts or organizing in majority‑Muslim countries being throttled or flagged, even when non‑violent.
• People describe self‑censoring with asterisks for “Palestine/Israel/Gaza/Jews” in local Facebook groups to avoid group bans.
• Long‑time activists claim they’ve known about algorithmic and policy bias for years; the leak is seen as external confirmation.

Comparisons to Other Regimes and US Trends

• Extended debate compares Western “platform censorship” to Russian/Chinese criminalization of speech.
• Some insist the key difference is still the absence (for now) of prison for social media posts; others point to student deportations, visa denials, and a controversial US deportation case as evidence of democratic backsliding.
• There is disagreement over whether this is “already fascism” or still a qualitatively different system with functioning courts and press.

TikTok, Other Platforms, and Information Control

• Commenters highlight the irony that US politicians cited TikTok’s pro‑Palestine skew as a national‑security concern while Meta was systematically removing similar content.
• Some see the TikTok ownership fight as largely about bringing another major attention pipeline under US/ally influence, rather than purely about China.

HN Meta: Titles, Ranking, and Moderation

• Users question an HN title edit that temporarily downplayed “Israeli” in the headline; moderator explains it was an attempt to reduce flamebait, later reversed after pushback.
• The mechanics of HN ranking (flags, manual adjustments, “significant new information” exceptions) are discussed as an example of soft, but explicit, curation.