Meta (Facebook) Has Begun To Censor My Writing

A reminder of why we cannot relent in our advocacy for human rights and justice, and why your support to counter this censorship becomes increasingly important every single day.

Yesterday I received my first warning and content removal, ever, from Meta for content I’d posted, allegedly violating their anti-hate conduct. Unsurprisingly, Meta removed content I posted related to Israel and Palestine—for which Human Rights Watch has already blasted Meta for their bias and unwarranted censorship. None of Meta’s claims about my content are based in fact, and I felt compelled to write this piece because it is critical my readers know what we’re up against. Indeed, Meta’s censorship of content that condemns genocide is devastating to human rights and justice, and we cannot let it go unaddressed. So, Let’s Address This.

© 2023 Human Rights Watch

The article Meta removed is a viral piece I wrote in response to an angry email from a critic. You may have read this piece, Debunking Four Myth’s About Israel’s Siege On Gaza. In this piece I debunk four propaganda claims used to justify committing war crimes and what the UN describes as “extermination” of Palestinians in Gaza. The four dangerous myths I debunk are as follows:

• Claim that the violence began on October 7—in reality the violence has perpetuated for generations.

• Claim that Hamas is rejecting the UN resolution for ceasefire—in reality only Netanyahu is rejecting the UN resolution by his own admission.

• Claim that Hamas is blocking aid—in reality the U.S. Government admits Israel alone is blocking the aid.

• Claim that media isn’t reporting with honesty—in reality the Netanyahu regime is blocking media and has killed 100+ journalists.

I was grateful that more than 50,000 people read my article. And despite my calls to critics to write a rebuttal, to date not a single person has been able to refute the facts and international law I reference. Instead, I received this warning and removal.

Meta’s notice of my content removal.

Meta ignored my entire argument and reference to documented receipts, and instead concluded, “We don’t allow people to share or send symbols, praise or support of people and organizations we define as dangerous, or to follow them.” Meta then provides three examples of “things we don’t allow” and names:

1. Praising a terrorist attack

2. Supporting violence against a particular group of people

3. Supporting or promoting harmful criminal activity, like human trafficking

To be sure, these are all perfectly rational things to ban from a platform. You can imagine my confusion, then, when my content was removed despite violating zero of these rules. I took a moment to re-read my own piece, concerned that perhaps I’d missed something? I encourage each of you to re-read this piece as well, and share it widely. You will find nothing but clear facts, references to documented reports of war crimes, citations to specific international human rights laws, and a receipt behind every position I take.

About Hamas I wrote at the very start of my article, “On October 7 I publicly condemned Hamas' attacks on Israeli civilians as an act of terrorism.” So clearly, I’m not praising them. My article instead focused on debunking the four dangerous claims mentioned above. Was it my criticism of the Netanyahu regime that caused this content removal? As I’ve written before, criticism of a state government is not antisemitism:

Jewish people as human beings deserve protection of equal rights and deserve safety in who they are—but to criminalize the criticism of a state entity is extraordinarily dangerous precedent. By the same logic, a future Congress could criminalize criticism of Pakistan as anti-Muslim because it's the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, or of Iran as anti-Muslim because it's the Islamic Republic of Iran. Obviously, neither withstands scrutiny past First Amendment free speech rights. Similarly, criminalizing the criticism of the state of Israel is at its foundation a flawed piece of legislation because the state of Israel is a government, it is not a person.

Unfortunately, Meta has a history of enabling genocide and censoring criticism of those committing genocide. So it is no surprise that they are once again on the wrong side of history. And this once more goes to why I launched Let’s Address This, to ensure I have a platform to advocate for human rights, media accountability, and meaningful justice.

My ask of you is to continue to support, subscribe if within your capacity, and continue to elevate this work. Let us continue to work for a future built on justice, compassion, and human rights. As for now, I’ve filed an appeal with Meta to restore my content, and have received no response as of yet. I’ll be sure to provide updates as they become available. Above all, thank you for your ongoing support against the onslaught of social media censorship and opposition to human rights. You truly are making a difference.

Why Your Support Matters: Every dollar we spend is a vote for the kind of future we want. Help me create a future more committed to justice and universal human rights. Subscribe, and I welcome your thoughts, feedback, and insights. Thank you.