Meta’s Oversight Board ruled the phrase “from the river to the sea” isn’t necessarily hate speech, a decision likely to fuel debate over Israel-Gaza war content.

Meta’s company-funded oversight body ruled Wednesday that the social media giant shouldn’t automatically take down posts using the phrase “from the river to the sea,” a decades-old rallying cry for Palestinian nationalism that has reignited a national debate about the boundaries of acceptable speech.

Meta’s Oversight Board, an independent collection of academics, experts and lawyers who oversee thorny content decisions on the platform, said posts they examined using the phrase didn’t violate the company’s rules against hate speech, inciting violence or praising dangerous organizations.

“While [the phrase] can be understood by some as encouraging and legitimizing antisemitism and the violent elimination of Israel and its people, it is also often used as a political call for solidarity, equal rights and self-determination of the Palestinian people, and to end the war in Gaza,” the board said in its ruling.

  • yesman@lemmy.worldEnglish
    28·
    14 days ago

    Ever notice how apologists for Zionism are all terrified at what would happen if Palestinians had authority and power because they assume Palestinians will be as brutal and criminal as the Zionists?

    What if they caused Israelis to become refugees? What if they did terror attacks to convince Israelis to leave? What if they passed racist laws that discriminated where a Jew could work, live, and move? Maybe they’ll subjugate Israel’s people to military justice and deny them rights and citizenship?

    Yea, all of that would be horrible and fucking wrong and I would support an embargo on weapons to this hypothetical Palestinian government.

    • Ilovethebomb@lemm.eeEnglish
      11·
      14 days ago

      I mean, they’ve either done or attempted most of that list, especially the terror attacks.

      That’s why this whole thing is such a shitshow, everyone involved is awful.