Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it could start taking down more posts that concentrate on “Zionists,” where the term is used to check with Jewish people and Israelis moderately than representing supporters of the political movement.
The Facebook and Instagram parent said in a blog post, it could remove content “attacking ‘Zionists’ when it just isn’t explicitly concerning the political movement” and uses antisemitic stereotypes or threatens harm through intimidation or violence directed against Jews or Israelis.
Meta’s hate speech policy prohibits direct attacks on people on the idea of what it calls protected characteristics, which include race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, disability and gender identity, amongst others.
The social media giant said its existing policies, which treat the term “Zionist” as a proxy for Jewish or Israeli people in only two narrow circumstances, didn’t sufficiently address the ways people use the word more broadly.
The policy update, which follows Meta’s consultations with 145 stakeholders representing civil society and academia across global regions, comes as tensions escalate within the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Meta has been criticized for years on the way it handles content involving the Middle East, and people criticisms shot up further after the beginning of the war, with rights groups accusing the corporate of suppressing content supportive of Palestinians on Facebook and Instagram.
