To the companies of Facebook & Instagram (Meta) and Tiktok, 

We are writing this petition due to our deep and unsettling concerns regarding the recent and ongoing suspected censorship and shadow banning of social media users on, ( Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok), who are expressing deep concerns, sharing knowledge and raising awareness, as well as first hands reports, on the indiscriminate killings of civilians in Palestine.

This concern was cemented after Instagram has recently come under fire for their “alleged bug mistake” of translating the Arabic phrases including “Palestine” to “Terrorist” in some user’s accounts. Additionally, this concern has been brought up earlier in 2021, by the Human Rights Watch that the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, " reported hundreds of deleted posts, suspended or restricted accounts, disabled groups, reduced visibility, lower engagement with content, and blocked hashtags" of Palestinians and their supporters who were raising awareness about human rights abuses by Israeli forces during the May 2021 hostilities. The platform responded  by "acknowledging that it had already apologized for “the impact these actions have had on their community in Israel and Palestine and on those speaking about Palestinian matters globally,” (HRW.org, 2021).

However, we are currently becoming aware that hundreds of social media accounts and influencers raising awareness on the current ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine, are once more raising concerns regarding their reach becoming significantly lower and their number of views dwindling (as cited by various news sites including, The Guardian, Washington Post and Wired). These concerns are echoed by people under attack in Gaza, whose last life line for humanitarian aid and an end to the massacre, is through social media. 

Though social media users have turned to “algospeak”, a collection of phrases and code words to avoid getting banned and continue to raise awareness about the inhumane atrocities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the reach is still not the same. 

The current situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank is not a matter of personal opinion, but has been condemned by the UN security council, the ICC and other human rights organizations as violating international human rights laws. With the death toll now nearing 5000 deaths, 2000+ being children and 15,000+ injured, and with the international condemnation and indiscriminate bombing of churches, mosques and hospitals as well schools, social media has been shown to be an indispensable tool for the public to educate and put pressure on political bodies to call on a ceasefire, prevent a potential ethnic cleansing and provide an immediate supply humanitarian aid by the international community. 

In 2023, we are horrified to see the international community allow such blatant human rights violations and internationally condemned war crimes. We are additionally abhorred that our own freedom of speech and expression is additionally being repressed during such a distressing time for humanity. 

In fact, these censorships and shadow banning can be seen as a violation of the UN's Universal declaration of human rights act, Article 19 states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers".

And as we have seen throughout history, silencing the public and censoring the media has caused us to lose millions of innocent lives. 

In turn, this petition asks the organizations responsible, to allow the people the rights to freedom of speech, as it is paramount that we publicly advocate against this humanitarian crisis and war crimes against innocent civilians and children, within the community guidelines of the platforms.

Thank you