Meta Supervisory Board to rule on “from the river to the sea”

The Meta Board of Supervisors is taking on a new set of cases that concern commentary surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict. The board says it will look into three cases involving Facebook posts that use the phrase “from the river to the sea”.

Despite the use of the slogan current conflict for several decades, it has received renewed attention and scrutiny since the October 7 attacks. “On the one hand, the phrase has been used to protect the dignity and human rights of Palestinians,” the board said in a statement. “On the other hand, it could have anti-Semitic implications, as consumers who have referred cases to the Board have argued.”

The board noted that in all three cases, Meta found that the posts did not violate its policies on promoting violence, hate speech, or terrorist content. The watchdog says it will “consider how Meta should moderate the use of the phrase given its resumption of use after October 7, 2023 and the controversy surrounding the meaning of the phrase.”

This is not the first time the Oversight Council has examined cases related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. The group previously took two cases to remove posts about the October 7 attacks and the subsequent air strike in Gaza. In these cases, the group’s first-ever “expedited reviews,” automated Meta moderation tools to mistakenly remove posts that should have been left up.

Notably, the board says all three posts in its latest cases were originally shared last November. And unlike previous cases related to the conflict, the Supervisory Board will not rush its decisions. This means that it may take several weeks before a decision is published. Meta will then have 60 days to respond to any policy recommendations arising from the case.