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.
[embed]https://twitter.com/xolanimvulana/status/1432773333138001923[/embed]
[embed]https://twitter.com/stonesswifts/status/1443674407201878018[/embed]
[embed]https://twitter.com/RashedCr7_/status/1425158399570890753[/embed]
[embed]https://twitter.com/arab21Army/status/1409792699675385857[/embed]
[embed]https://twitter.com/79Dot_/status/1409433569903136770[/embed]
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.
An Israeli group, whose founder supported US President Donald Trump’s plan to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza and was founded by soldiers and former intelligence officers, was behind last year’s flights that facilitated the travel of hundreds of Palestinians from the war-torn Strip and landed in South Africa and Indonesia, an AP investigation has found.
Israel is reportedly planning to further restrict the entry of aid into the war-torn Gaza Strip, despite the so-called ceasefire and amid an already severe humanitarian crisis after two years of genocide.
While presenting the Oscar for Best International Film, Javier Bardem began his remarks by saying, “not to war and free Palestine,” drawing a loud round of applause from the audience at the March 15 awards ceremony.