Activists accuse Facebook of anti-Palestinian bias

Palestinian digital activists say social media platforms, especially Facebook and Instagram, have censored criticism of Israel in response to government pressure.

Now, they're launching a campaign to bring attention to their cause.

Social media user Tala Ghannam says she's among those affected.

"When they used to remove my posts or reduce the reach of my stories, I felt that I didn't have even the basic rights to freedom of opinion, I didn't have freedom of expression. I felt that I was being chased (online) and that it was a violation of my rights - my basic right of expression. The right to express an opinion. I can't understand how the words 'Save Sheikh Jarrah' for example, could be harmful, or against the guidelines for any social media website."

The student claims her posts have been removed from Facebook and Instagram for violating community guidelines, especially those tagged "#SaveSheikhJarrah" in support of Palestinian families at risk of eviction.

The 7amleh digital rights organisation launched a website on Monday (November 1) saying it has documented 746 rights violations so far this year.

Ahmad Qadi, monitoring and documentation coordinator at 7amleh, says the group is ''aiming to change the policies of the different social media platforms''.

Facebook responded to a request for comment by referring to the work of its independent Oversight Board.

The board called in September for moderation of Arabic and Hebrew content to be reviewed for potential bias.

The company said it would implement recommendations from that review.