Facebook oversight board set to rule on whether the phrase ‘From the river to the sea’ is ‘hate speech’

Meta’s Oversight Board will consider whether the phrase “From the river to the sea,” which is often chanted by pro-Palestinian protesters, constitutes hate speech and warrants a ban from its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.

The board, which operates as an independent panel that decides on controversial issues related to content, said it was citing three posts that were flagged by Facebook users in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas that left nearly 1,200 Israeli soldiers and civilians dead.

The first post includes a video urging people to “speak up.” The caption included the hashtags “#ceasefire,” “#freepalestine,” “#FromTheRiverToTheSea,” “DefundIsrael” and others.

Another viral post, which was viewed more than 8 million times, included a generated image of fruit floating at sea that form the words “Palestine will be free.”

The board said that human moderators who looked at the post did not find that it violated the site’s terms of service.

The third post which was flagged was a reshared item that was created by a Canadian pro-Palestinian organization that condemned the “senseless slaughter” committed by the “Zionist State of Israel” and “Zionist Israeli occupiers.”

The post ends with the phrase “From The River To The Sea.”

All three posts were left up by content moderators. Facebook users appealed the decision, leading the board to consider the case.

When the board approached Meta about the posts, the company “found the posts did not violate any of these policies.”

“After that review, Meta determined that, without additional context, it cannot conclude that ‘From the river to the sea’ constitutes a call to violence or a call for exclusion of any particular group, nor that it is linked exclusively to support for Hamas,” the board wrote.

Supporters of Israel have claimed that the phrase is a call for genocide against Jews.

“On the one hand, the phrase has been used to advocate for the dignity and human rights of Palestinians,” the board wrote.

“On the other hand, it could have antisemitic implications, as claimed by the users who submitted the cases to the Board.”

The board invited the public to submit comments about the phrase.

Meta is required to heed the board’s rulings on specific content decisions, though it’s under no obligation to follow the board’s broader recommendations.

In December, the board ruled that Facebook should reverse its decisions to remove posts that showed graphic video of both Israeli and Palestinian casualties in the ongoing war.

In one case, the board said, Instagram removed a video showing what appears to be the aftermath of a strike on or near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

The post shows Palestinians, including children, injured or killed. Meta’s automated systems removed the post, saying it violated its rules against violent and graphic content.

While Meta eventually reversed its decision, the board said, it placed a warning screen on the post and demoted it, which means it was not recommended to users and fewer people saw it.

The board said it disagrees with the decision to demote the video.

The other case concerns video posted to Facebook of an Israeli woman begging her kidnappers not to kill her as she is taken hostage during the Hamas raids on Israel on Oct. 7.

With Post wires