Meta weighs ‘to the sea’ as hate

Meta’s Oversight Board will consider if the phrase “From the river to the sea,” which is often chanted by pro-Palestinian protesters, constitutes hate speech and warrants a ban from its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.

The board, which operates as an independent panel that decides on controversial issues related to content, said it was citing three posts that were flagged by Facebook users in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas that left nearly 1,200 Israeli soldiers and civilians dead.

The first post includes a video urging people to “speak up.” The caption included the hashtags “#ceasefire,” “#freepalestine,” “#FromTheRiverToTheSea,” “DefundIsrael” and others.

Another viral post, which was viewed more than 8 million times, included a generated image of fruit floating at sea that form the words “Palestine will be free.”

The board said that human moderators who looked at the post did not find that it violated the site’s terms of service.

The third post flagged was a reshared item that was created by a Canadian pro-Palestinian organization that condemned the “senseless slaughter” committed by the “Zionist State of Israel” and “Zionist Israeli occupiers.”

The post ends with the phrase “From The River To The Sea.”

All three posts were left up by content moderators. Facebook users appealed the decision, leading the board to consider the case.