Meta Oversight Board says Israel-Hamas videos should not have been removed

Meta Oversight Board says Israel-Hamas videos should not have been removed

By Sheila Dang

Meta Platform's Oversight Board said on Tuesday that the social media company erred in removing two videos depicting hostages and injured people in the Israel-Hamas conflict, saying the videos were valuable to understanding human suffering in the war.

Since Hamas' attack in Israel on Oct. 7, social media platforms have seen renewed scrutiny over their content moderation practices due to a surge in misinformation and accusations that the companies have promoted certain viewpoints about the conflict.

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The videos about the conflict are the first time that the Oversight Board, an independent body that reviews content decisions on Meta's Facebook and Instagram, examined cases on an expedited basis. The board announced the faster review process earlier this year to respond more quickly to urgent events.

One of the cases concerned a video posted on Instagram, which showed the aftermath of an airstrike near Al Shifa hospital in Gaza, including children who appeared injured or dead.

The second case involved a video of the Oct. 7 attack, which showed an Israeli woman begging her kidnappers not to kill her as she is taken hostage.

In both instances, after the Oversight Board selected the content takedowns for review, Meta reversed its decision and restored the videos with a screen that warned viewers before viewing, the board said.

The board said it approved of the move to restore the content, but disagreed with Meta's decision to restrict the videos from being recommended to users, and in a statement urged Meta to "respond more quickly to changing circumstances on the ground, which affect the balance between the values of voice and safety."

A Meta spokesperson said the company welcomed the board's decisions, adding no further action would be taken on the cases since the board did not make any policy recommendations.