If I were to list every time a Palestinian or activist that has been shadow-banned by Instagram for simply advocating for Palestinian human rights, well let’s just say it would take me a very long time. Yesterday, Instagram decided to ban me as well.
Why? Perhaps it’s because of my part in GRAZIA’s new podcast series, Preserving Palestine. Just a few weeks ago, the Director of Human Rights at Meta, Instagram’s parent company, released an article claiming, “We want our services to be a place where people can express themselves freely and safely around the world. This is especially true in situations where social media can be used to spread hate, fuel tension and incite violence on the ground. That’s why we have clear rules against terrorism, hate speech and incitement to violence, and subject matter experts who help develop and enforce those rules. We also have a corporate Human Rights policy and a dedicated Human Rights team — who help us manage human rights risks and better understand how our products and technologies impact different countries and communities..”
It seems as though Meta thinks that supporting Palestinian human rights goes against their guidelines. What is the point of having a ‘dedicated Human Rights team’ if they are complicit in denying the advocacy for all human rights, including Palestinian human rights?
As of last night, I have not been able to access anything from my Instagram page. I haven’t been logged out and you will be able to search for my name, and yet I still cannot post, see my feed, my messages or my own profile.
Shadow-banning Palestinians on Instagram and Facebook is unfortunately nothing new, as we’ve seen an unimaginable number of Palestinian accounts being blocked in May 2021 after the outbreak of yet another war in Palestine. Several notable activists, influencers and public figures had their posts taken down and their accounts blocked, just because they shared the truth about what was happening.
In our inaugural episode of Preserving Palestine, Vin Arfuso made a statement that resonates with me now more than ever. He shared, “the other thing to me is that the consequences prove our point. So not only do we not fear these consequences, it makes our point. So, if somebody is honest, and they’d say, ‘no, we don’t want
you on this project, because you spoke up for the Palestinians,’ that’s fine. You should tell more people that you don’t want us on this because we called for basic human rights. They show themselves when they present consequences for us.”
And so, I am writing this as an open letter to Instagram & Meta, if you want to try and stop me and more Palestinians from saying our truth, go ahead. All you are doing is proving why I need to shout the truth louder than I did before.
