Digital Censorship Against Freedom of Expression and Thought: An Analysis in the Context of Israel's October 7 Occupation of Palestine

Abstract

In this study, the concept of ‘digital censorship’ is examined in the context of censorship allegations regarding pro-Palestinian content on Meta platforms following the Israeli occupation of Palestine on October 7, 2023. The study specifically focuses on allegations of censorship on the Meta platform. The first reason for this choice is that the user rate of this platform is much higher than other social media platforms. The other reason is that most of the reports and documented evidence of digital censorship on social media platforms relate to content on Instagram and Facebook. In the research, digital censorship allegations are analyzed within the framework of examples reflected in the global public opinion, and especially within the framework of Human Rights Watch (HRW)'s report on Meta dated December 2023. In the theoretical part of the study, the phenomenon of digital censorship is analyzed with a particular focus on the concept of shadow banning. Then, general information is given about the political context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the last section, Meta's censorship of pro-Palestinian accounts is examined with examples from news and reports on the subject.Ultimately, the study aims to contribute to the academic literature addressing both the Israel-Palestine issue and the concept of digital censorship.

Keywords: Digital Censorship, Shadow Banning, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict