Meta’s Oversight Board rules ‘from the river to the sea’ not hate speech

The ruling comes despite an attempt by the Israeli intelligence-linked organization, Cyberwell, to have the popular phrase removed from Meta platforms

News Desk - The Cradle 

The Oversight Board of social media giant Meta ruled on 4 September that the popular term used by Palestinians, “from the river to the sea,” does not constitute antisemitic hate speech and should not be removed from its platforms. 

“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 Oversight Board said in its ruling. 

The board said it reviewed three different cases where the term was used on Facebook and terminated all appeals to have the content taken down. 

“Specifically, the three pieces of content contain contextual signs of solidarity with Palestinians – but no language calling for violence or exclusion. They also do not glorify or even refer to Hamas, an organization designated as dangerous by Meta,” it added. 

The ruling went on to say that the term’s use by “terrorist” groups, referring to Hamas or other Palestinian resistance factions, “does not make the phrase inherently hateful or violent – considering the variety of people using the phrase in different ways.”

The ruling came despite an attempt by Cyberwell to convince Meta that the term should be taken down from its platforms. Cyberwell is an online data initiative that enforces “community standards” on social media by tracking antisemitism and hate speech. 

Cyberwell, considered a “trusted partner” of Meta, has close links to Israeli intelligence, The Cradle columnist Kit Klarenberg outlined on 3 September. 

Earlier this year, Cyberwell had submitted a formal guidance report on censoring the Palestine solidarity phrase. 

The board ruling comes as Meta has been cracking down on pro-Palestinian content and views critical of Israel. 

Meta permanently banned The Cradle from its social media platforms on 16 August for allegedly violating community guidelines by “praising terrorist organizations” and engaging in “incitement to violence.”

According to Klarenberg, “It is almost certain that CyberWell had a hand in The Cradle’s abrupt removal from Meta’s platforms.”