Weekly Update on Palestinian Digital Rights

BBC Investigation Reveals Facebook Restricting Palestine News Amid War

Misbar 

BBC Arabic recently revealed that Facebook significantly restricted Palestinian news outlets' audience reach during the Israeli war on Gaza. In contrast, the analysis found that audience engagement with Israeli news outlets increased after October 7. Meta’s Facebook Restricts Palestinian News Amid War A BBC analysis of Facebook data revealed a sharp decline in audience engagement for newsrooms in Gaza and the West Bank since October 2023. Leaked documents reviewed by the BBC also showed that Instagram, another Meta platform, increased its moderation of Palestinian user comments after October 2023.

Freelancers in Gaza strive to stay online amid genocide

Press TV 

The systematic destruction of communication systems and power infrastructure has plunged Gazans into a state of blackout amidst the ongoing genocide. Among those most affected are freelancers who depend on the internet as their primary source of livelihood. Our correspondent in Khan Yunis Ahmed Al-Najjar reports. 

The World Owes Palestine This Much - Please Stop Censoring Palestinian Voices

Scoop 

Social media censorship is a global phenomenon, but the war on pro-Palestinian views on social media represents a different kind of censorship, with consequences that can only be described as dire. Long before the current devastating war on Gaza and the escalation of Israeli violence and repression in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian and pro-Palestinian voices have been censored. Some date the censorship to an agreement in 2016 that, according to the Israeli government, sought to “force social networks to remove content that Israel considers to be incitement.”

Israel expands use of dystopian technology in the West Bank, regardless of impact on Palestinian lives

New Arab

The Israeli army is preparing to deploy dystopic technological security systems in the occupied West Bank, as its Israeli military and political quarters are concerned it will turn into a major battlefield. Israeli Army Radio said last week that the army recently began equipping itself with dozens of technological systems to deploy at the entrances to settlements and key points under the pretext of what it called "preventing infiltration". These systems include watchtowers and mechanisms that will fire live ammunition from a distance without taking into account the safety of the Palestinians in case of technological errors.