Activists gear up for campaign against Twitter bias against pro-Palestine content
Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Pro-Palestine activists around the globe called for an online campaign against Twitter’s bias against the Palestinian content on the social media platform.
The calls come after Twitter started marking accounts, posting pro-Palestine content, as ‘sensitive. The move makes media posted by those accounts invisible for other users.
Several Twitter accounts were targeted in the move, including news accounts such as QNN’s. Activists stated that their accounts have been targeted by the social media giant.
According to @Twitter @swilkinsonbc giving people the daily reality of the brutality of the illegal occupation of #Palestine by the Israeli regime is "sensitive content". #FreePalestine
— X o l a n i 🎇 🌅 🌍 🇿🇦 🇵🇸 🏳️🌈 (@xolanimvulana) August 31, 2021
this is so random but fuck twitter, instagram and facebook for making every post about palestine a "sensitive content"
— rawa (@stonesswifts) September 30, 2021
@TwitterSupport why are replies saying “Free Palestine” hidden and flagged as sensitive content? Seems pretty racist to me. Do you have an explanation??
— Mr. Ralph (@RashedCr7_) August 10, 2021
@Twitter, this is not a sensitive content.
This is Palestine. This #EthnicCleansing.#savesheikhjarrah#FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/DAHtohc7lf— الوحدة العربية الإلكترونية لنصرة قضايا الأمة (@arab21Army) June 29, 2021
@Twitter explain why #Palestine map and encouraging people to speak out about what is happening in #SaveSilwan considered as sensitive content? That you hide from followers?
— نُقْطة (@79Dot_) June 28, 2021
QNN had contacted the Twitter administration, which in turn denied responsibility, claiming that it has not marked any posts as sensitive.
Twitter as among social media platforms, which were accused of targeting Palestinian content in several incidents. Last May, during a global wave of solidarity posts with the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, it removed thousands of posts and suspended hundreds of pro-Palestine accounts. Twitter and Instagram blamed ‘technical errors’ at the time.
However, data rights groups feared “discriminatory” algorithms were at work. 7amleh, Access Now, and other digital rights groups called on Twitter and Instagram to use “transparent and coherent moderation policies” and be more open when take-downs happen.
“Moderation is on the rise, and it’s really a blunt object,” said Jillian York, director for international freedom of expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
“The companies don’t pay enough attention to cultural contexts like Palestine where there’s basically less profit, so they put a lot more effort into making content moderation and automation effective in larger markets,” she said.
