Meta Fixes 'Bug' That Suppressed Pro-Palestine Content On Instagram, Adds Measures To Counter Unwanted Comments On Facebook

Meta has introduced temporary measures to limit "potentially unwelcome or unwanted comments" on posts discussing the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Supporters of Palestine carry placards during a rally in London to condemn the recent fighting in Gaza on October 14 in London,

In response to concerns raised by Instagram users who shared pro-Palestine content, Meta has addressed and resolved a bug on the platform. Meta, which designates Hamas as a "dangerous organization" and prohibits content that praises the group, made these changes following accusations that pro-Palestinian content was being suppressed. On October 10, Mondoweiss, a news website focusing on Palestinian human rights, reported on a social media platform that Instagram had twice suspended the profile of its video correspondent, and other users claimed that their posts and stories related to Palestine were not receiving views.

According to Meta, the bug affected accounts worldwide, irrespective of the content's subject matter, including those not related to Israel and Gaza. The company emphasized that the issue was not content-related but rather a technical bug.

Meta statement on concerns about the visibility of Stories.

“We identified a bug impacting all Stories that re-shared Reels and Feed posts, meaning they weren’t showing up properly in people’s Stories tray, leading to significantly reduced reach. This bug affected accounts…

— Andy Stone (@andymstone) October 15, 2023

Furthermore, Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, introduced temporary measures to limit "potentially unwelcome or unwanted comments" on posts discussing the Israel-Hamas conflict. Meta altered the default settings for comments on new and public Facebook posts, limiting them to friends and followers in the region, although the specific definition of the region was not provided. Users retain the option to change this setting at any time.

Additionally, Meta has disabled the ability to view the first one or two comments on posts while scrolling through the Facebook feed. The company stated that its policies aim to ensure user safety and encourage free expression, and it denied any allegations of deliberate content suppression.

As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues to rage, both regulators and analysts are sounding alarms over the proliferation of online disinformation, which threatens to exacerbate tensions and escalate the conflict in a digital fog of war, according to a report by Reuters. The most recent flashpoint in this surge of activity is an explosion at a Gaza hospital, resulting in the loss of hundreds of Palestinian lives. Supporters of both Israel and Hamas are actively working to reinforce their respective narratives while sowing doubt about the other side's account of events.

During a visit to Israel on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden acknowledged the challenge of verifying information amid the conflict. He suggested that the responsibility for the hospital incident appeared to rest with Israel's adversaries but also noted the prevalence of uncertainty.