Facebook Gave Go-Ahead To Ads Calling For Violence Against Palestinian People: Report

Ads on the social networking giant were submitted in Hebrew and Arabic that blatantly violated Facebook and Meta's policies, featuring explicit calls for violence.

Facebook spokesperson said the ads, found to be in violation of Meta's policies, were promptly removed.

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Meta-owned Facebook approved a set of advertisements that "dehumanised and advocated" violence against Palestinians, revealing a potential loophole in the platform's content moderation standards, says a report by The Intercept. Ads on the social networking giant were submitted in Hebrew and Arabic that blatantly violated Facebook and Meta's policies, featuring explicit calls for violence, such as advocating a "holocaust for the Palestinians" and endorsing the elimination of "Gazan women and children and the elderly", the report added.

Additionally, dehumanising language was employed, with references to kids from Gaza as "future terrorists" and derogatory terms like "Arab pigs".

Facebook spokesperson Erin McPike was quoted as saying by The Verge that the ads, found to be in violation of Meta's policies, were promptly removed. Notably, objectionable content has previously bypassed Facebook's automated ad controls, with recent instances including the approval of ads advocating violence in Brazil and Europe this year.

Ad Kan, a right-wing Israeli group established by former Israel Defense Force and intelligence officers to counter organisations deemed "anti-Israeli" and allegedly funded by antisemitic sources, was responsible for placing the ad, as stated on its website. Neither Larudee nor Ad Kan responded immediately to requests for comment. Advocating for the assassination of a political activist goes against Facebook's advertising rules, the report added.

Earlier in October, the EU issued a warning to Mark Zuckerberg regarding the proliferation of "disinformation" on Meta's social media platforms following Hamas' attack on Israel. Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, was also given a "24-hour" ultimatum to respond and align with European law.

Notably, social media platforms have experienced a surge in misinformation related to the conflict, including manipulated images and mislabeled videos.

A report in October said that Mark Zuckerberg-owned Meta temporarily restricted access to one of the leading pro-Palestine accounts on Instagram, boasting over 6 million followers, rendering it inaccessible. As per a report in mashable, the account named Eye on Palestine (@eye.on.palestine), and its official backup (@eye.on.palestine2) were both unavailable.

The backup account was created to protect the original page and fight against shadowbanning, a problem Instagram users have said they've faced while sharing pro-Palestine content since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Mashable report added.