" War on Gaza: Palestinian youth self-censoring online for fear of repercussions", 20 August 2024

A new report reveals that since Israel’s war on Gaza began, young people in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem have scaled back social media use out of fear of potential repercussions…

… showing that 39 percent of respondents deleted political and social posts out of fear…

Additionally, 50 percent of users reported that platform restrictions, including shadow banning by Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram), had led them to reduce their online activity…

… half of the users have either been questioned by Israeli security agencies or know of others who have faced similar scrutiny due to their social media posts…

The study concludes that digital security in the Palestinian context has become increasingly complex, with multiple entities violating digital rights and diverse threats emerging…

The 51-page report, “Meta’s Broken Promises: Systemic Censorship of Palestine Content on Instagram and Facebook,” released on Thursday by HRW, "documents a pattern of undue removal and suppression of protected speech including peaceful expression in support of Palestine and public debate about Palestinian human rights…