A non-governmental organization that monitors and documents digital violations of Palestinian content, Sada Social, has discovered efforts by social media companies to delete content related to Palestine since the Israel-Palestine conflict occurred on October 7th.

As reported by the Palestinian news agency WAFA, Sada Social has stated that there is a global effort to silence the Palestinian narrative in depicting ongoing events, while governments and social media platforms worldwide are fully supportive of and promoting the Israeli narrative.

According to Sada Social, the European Union has requested social media platforms to remove Palestinian-related content. These platforms were given a 24-hour deadline to take action. Failure to comply would result in legal consequences, fines, and a ban on their use in Europe.

In response to the escalation in Palestine, Facebook changed its content privacy policy on October 11th. Facebook emphasized restrictions on "dangerous individuals and organizations," including a significant portion of the Palestinian narrative and the coverage of Palestinian journalists.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who owns platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, and Messenger, has strongly expressed his support for Israel amid the ethnic cleansing of civilians in Gaza, according to Sada Social.

On Monday, October 10th, X announced that they were partnering with the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism to remove content related to the Hamas movement and Palestinian accounts. Approximately 50 million tweets are being monitored globally, and X has deleted hundreds of Palestinian accounts.

YouTube has also removed videos depicting events in Palestine. The platform specifically informs users that while the videos do not violate community standards, they may not be suitable for all audiences.

TikTok has suspended several Palestinian accounts and restricted or banned videos showing solidarity and support for Palestine.

Messenger, owned by Meta, has prohibited its users from sending links to official websites and Telegram channel links related to the Hamas movement, as well as links to the official websites and Telegram channels of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigade.

Hundreds of fake profiles on various platforms have been detected attacking Palestinians, inciting violence against them, and spreading fake news. These platforms have not removed these accounts, according to the NGO.

Sada Social has stated that these actions are an attempt to obstruct access to the truth and contribute to the spread of rumors and fake news, particularly in the current crisis. They allow Israel to narrate events from its perspective but limit the voices of Palestinians.

Social media companies have imposed stricter restrictions on Arabic-language content but have not applied similar restrictions to Hebrew-language content, they said. "Content censorship on the internet is as dangerous as physical military activities. Without accountability or responsibility, content filtering adds to aggression and real crimes against citizens," says Sada Social.