Meta reviewing use of the term ‘Zionist’ while Instagram, Threads steer away from political content

Meta has said it is mulling censorship of the term ‘Zionist’ even as the company announced that Threads and Instagram will not “proactively recommend content about politics”

‘Zionist’ has been used on social media to promote or condemn supporters of Israel and its army as the regime repeatedly bombards Palestinians [File] | Photo Credit: REUTERS

In a move that left activists and social media users worried, Meta has confirmed to several civil society groups that it is looking at how to treat the term ‘Zionist’ as part of its hate speech policy, reported The Intercept on February 8.

Zionism refers to the controversial 19th century nationalist ideology that recognises a homeland for Jewish people in Palestine, and continues to fight for Israel’s right to existence despite being accused of justifying violent land theft, colonisation, and apartheid.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October last year, the term ‘Zionist’ has been used on social media to promote or condemn supporters of Israel and its army as the regime repeatedly bombards Palestinians.

However, ‘Zionist’ has also been misused as a synonym for Jewish people worldwide, which is an example of antisemitism (discrimination against Jewish people). This is because not all Jewish people are Zionists; in fact, many Jewish activists have protested for Palestinian liberation or even believe Israel should not exist. On the other hand, not all Zionists are Jewish or Israeli, as people of diverse nationalities and religions believe in Israel’s right to existence.

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But as the negative use of ‘Zionist’ spikes during the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Meta is considering censoring the term to prevent antisemitism.

In response to this, non-Zionist social media users fear that censoring the word ‘Zionist’ could harm activists who are criticising Israel alone, reported The Intercept. Meanwhile, Zionists have claimed that speaking against Zionism is no different from discriminating against Jewish people.

As Meta continues to consider its options, the company also announced that it would not be recommending political content to users on Instagram and Threads.

“If you decide to follow accounts that post political content, we don’t want to get between you and their posts, but we also don’t want to proactively recommend political content from accounts you don’t follow. So we’re extending our existing approach to how we treat political content – we won’t proactively recommend content about politics on recommendation surfaces across Instagram and Threads,” said a notice on the Instagram website, posted on February 9.

Published - February 12, 2024 11:32 am IST