 |
| Facebook employees ask him to lift Palestinian censorship |
According to the Financial Times, Facebook employees are circulating an internal petition asking the company to investigate its content editing system, leading many Palestinians to say their voices are being censored.
A few weeks ago, more than 200 people, including at least 63 children, were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian activists and their allies have long accused social media companies of censoring pro-Palestinian content. This problem has been exacerbated in recent conflicts.
Decisions about how Facebook content is reviewed are made by third-party vendors and algorithms, and this process is particularly problematic in non-English speaking countries.
After Instagram restricted mention of Al-Aqsa Mosque naming, pro-Palestinian activists organized a campaign to give Facebook a star on the App Store.
In the petition, Facebook employees wrote: "Our users and community believe that we have not fulfilled our publicly stated commitment to protect the situation in Palestine."
They cited clarifications from the media and members of Congress on the matter, noting that the Facebook app has very low ratings on the App Store.
They added, "We believe Facebook can and must do more to understand its users and work hard to restore their trust."
Facebook employees are very angry.
The news was spread through internal forums by employees of organizations called "Palestinians" and "Muslims". She has 174 signatures.
The employee asked Facebook to conduct an external review of content editing decisions related to Arabic and Islamic content.
They also want to examine a publication by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listing Palestinian civilians as terrorists on the company's independent monitoring committee.
Last month, Google, Apple and Amazon employees wrote internal letters urging leaders to support Palestine.
Employees at the Big Three in tech said they believe the CEO does not support Muslim workers.
In addition, some people also hope that Google and Amazon will review the $1.2 billion cloud computing deal the two companies recently signed with the Israeli government.
A Facebook spokesperson said the company was required to review reports on implementation of the Community Standards.
"We know there are many issues affecting people's ability to participate through our app," he added. It should not happen. We apologize to anyone who feels unable to draw attention to important events. We apologize to those who think this is intentionally suppressing their voices.
According to the spokesperson, the company has implemented a policy that allows everyone to express their opinion while ensuring the security of their apps. These guidelines also apply regardless of who posted it or what their personal beliefs are.