Operation Center for Countering Fake News Activated
Only Friends or Followers Can Comment
Meta Platforms (Meta), which operates Facebook and Instagram, announced that it will temporarily restrict comments on Facebook posts related to the armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
According to major foreign media reports on the 18th (local time), Meta explained through its official blog that it will change the default setting so that only friends and followers can comment on public Facebook posts made by users in the "region" concerned.
Meta did not specify which Facebook accounts in the "region" the changed policy would apply to. However, experts speculate that the "region" refers to Israel and Hamas, given that the European Union (EU) has urged Meta to devise measures to block fake news following Hamas's surprise attack on Israel.
Meta stated, "This default setting can be canceled or changed at any time." It also emphasized that the feature allowing users to see the first one or two comments on posts while scrolling through the Facebook feed will be disabled.
Facebook feed comments are displayed in order of the number of 'likes' received. Often, comments containing hateful or aggressive content appeared first. Meta explained that this decision was made because users tended to focus only on such comments, causing significant side effects.
Earlier, immediately after Hamas's airstrike on Israel, false information claiming that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been urgently transported to a hospital was spread on Meta. In response, Meta established a "special operations center" staffed with experts fluent in Hebrew and Arabic and took action by deleting more than 795,000 pieces of content.
Hamas criticized Meta for unfairly suppressing their content. This was because Meta classified Hamas as a "dangerous organization" and banned content praising Hamas.
Regarding the recent setting change, Meta emphasized, "It is to allow everyone to have a voice and to protect people safely on the app," adding, "This policy is not intended to deliberately suppress freedom of expression."
While 'Meta' imposes sanctions, 'Telegram' remains indifferent... Hamas surpasses 14 million subscribers
Hamas accounts, which are banned on most social media platforms, are seeing a surge in views and followers on Telegram. Unlike Twitter or Google, there is no effective way to directly sanction Telegram, which was founded by a Russian and is headquartered in Dubai.
According to CNN, a Telegram account of the Hamas armed group Al-Qassam Brigades tripled its followers and saw a tenfold increase in views of posted videos and other content after the surprise attack on Israel on the 7th.
Hamas is actively using Telegram to oppose Israel. The Telegram channel linked to Hamas, "Gaza Now," has reached 14 million subscribers.
Photos and videos of Palestinian children killed or severely injured by Israeli airstrikes are being posted there. Regarding the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital tragedy that occurred on the evening of the 17th, multiple photos and videos depicting the devastation have been rapidly uploaded, claiming, "Many innocent people died due to Israeli airstrikes." Hamas's official channel also posted messages in Arabic urging supporters to "take direct action and show anger. Do not wait for tomorrow."
While Twitter, Google, and Meta have imposed sanctions on Hamas, Telegram continues to allow Hamas to use its service. Following Meta's announcement, there is growing interest in whether Telegram will also begin sanctioning Hamas.
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