"Leaked Data Reveals Massive Israeli Campaign to Remove Pro-Palestine Posts on Facebook and Instagram", 11 April 2025

A sweeping crackdown on posts on Instagram and Facebook that are critical of Israel—or even vaguely supportive of Palestinians—was directly orchestrated by the government of Israel, according to internal Meta data obtained by Drop Site News. The data show that Meta has complied with 94% of takedown requests issued by Israel since October 7, 2023. Israel is the biggest originator of takedown requests globally by far, and Meta has followed suit—widening the net of posts it automatically removes, and creating what can be called the largest mass censorship operation in modern history.

Government requests for takedowns generally focus on posts made by citizens inside that government’s borders, Meta insiders said. What makes Israel’s campaign unique is its success in censoring speech in many countries outside of Israel. What’s more, Israel's censorship project will echo well into the future, insiders said, as the AI program Meta is currently training how to moderate content will base future decisions on the successful takedown of content critical of Israel’s genocide.

The data, compiled and provided to Drop Site News by whistleblowers, reveal the internal mechanics of Meta’s “Integrity Organization”—an organization within Meta dedicated to ensuring the safety and authenticity on its platforms. Takedown requests (TDRs) allow individuals, organizations, and government officials to request the removal of content that allegedly violates Meta’s policies. The documents indicate that the vast majority of Israel’s requests—95%—fall under Meta’s “terrorism” or “violence and incitement” categories. And Israel’s requests have overwhelmingly targeted users from Arab and Muslim-majority nations in a massive effort to silence criticism of Israel.

Multiple independent sources inside Meta confirmed the authenticity of the information provided by the whistleblowers. The data also show that Meta removed over 90,000 posts to comply with TDRs submitted by the Israeli government in an average of 30 seconds. Meta also significantly expanded automated takedowns since October 7, resulting in an estimated 38.8 million additional posts being “actioned upon” across Facebook and Instagram since late 2023. “Actioned upon” in Facebook terms means that a post was either removed, banned, or suppressed.

Takedown Requests

All of the Israeli government’s TDRs post-October 7th contain the exact same complaint text, according to the leaked information, regardless of the substance of the underlying content being challenged. ...

...

Remove, Strike, Suspend

Within Meta, several key leadership positions are filled by figures with personal connections to the Israeli government. The Integrity Organization is run by Guy Rosen, a former Israeli military official who served in the Israeli military’s signals intelligence unit, Unit 8200. ...

Rosen’s Integrity Organization works synergistically with Meta’s Policy Organization, according to employees. The Policy Organization sets the rules, and the Integrity Organization enforces them—but the two feed one another, they said. “Policy changes are often driven by data from the integrity org,” explained one Meta employee. ...

According to internal information reviewed by Drop Site, Cutler has continued to demand the review of content related to Kanafani under Meta’s policy “Glorification, Support or Representation” of individuals or organizations “that proclaim a violent mission or are engaged in violence to have a presence on our platforms.” ...

According to internal information reviewed by Drop Site, Cutler has continued to demand the review of content related to Kanafani under Meta’s policy “Glorification, Support or Representation” of individuals or organizations “that proclaim a violent mission or are engaged in violence to have a presence on our platforms.” Kanafani, who was killed in a 1972 car bombing orchestrated by the Mossad, served as a spokesperson for the left-wing Palestinian nationalist group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The PFLP was designated as a terrorist group over a quarter century after he was killed, which, according to Meta’s guidelines and Cutler’s efforts, serves as a basis to flag his content for removal, strikes, and possible suspension.

Global Scope

The leaked documents reveal that Israel’s takedown requests have overwhelmingly targeted users from Arab and Muslim-majority nations, with the top 12 countries affected being: Egypt (21.1%), Jordan (16.6%), Palestine (15.6%), Algeria (8.2%), Yemen (7.5%), Tunisia (3.3%), Morocco (2.9%), Saudi Arabia (2.7%), Lebanon (2.6%), Iraq (2.6%), Syria (2%), Turkey (1.5%). In total, users from over 60 countries have reported censorship of content related to Palestine, according to Human Rights Watch—with posts being removed, accounts suspended, and visibility reduced through shadow banning.

Notably, only 1.3% of Israel’s takedown requests target Israeli users, making Israel an outlier among governments that typically focus their censorship efforts on their own citizens. For example, 63% of Malaysia’s takedown requests target Malaysian content, and 95% of Brazil’s requests target Brazilian content. Israel, however, has turned its censorship efforts outward, focusing on silencing critics and narratives that challenge its policies, particularly in the context of the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the West Bank.

Despite Meta’s awareness of Israel’s aggressive censorship tactics for at least seven years, according to Meta whistleblowers, the company has failed to curb the abuse. Instead, one said, the company “actively provided the Israeli government with a legal entry-point for carrying out its mass censorship campaign.”