Internal communications revealed by The Intercept show that Meta, through its Israel and Jewish Diaspora Policy Manager Jordana Cutler, made internal efforts to censor Instagram posts from pro-Palestinian student groups. Here are the details and what you need to know…
Meta Leaks Could Reopen the Palestine File!
According to documents leaked from within Meta, Cutler, a former senior Israeli government official, reportedly had Instagram accounts of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a group playing a significant role in campus protests against the war in Gaza, reviewed.
In internal policy discussions, it is said that Cutler had at least four SJP posts and other content that went against Israel’s foreign policy reviewed through Meta’s content escalation channels. She cited Meta’s ‘Dangerous Organizations and Individuals’ policy in these efforts.
Meta spokesperson Dani Lever commented on the matter, stating, “It does not matter who flags the content, as our policies determine what is allowed on the platform. Teams at Meta, including Public Policy, are expected to escalate content that may violate our policies when they become aware of it.”
Cutler, who has been with Meta since 2016, has held roles such as Chief of Staff at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, campaign advisor for the Likud party, and advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a 2020 interview with the Jerusalem Post, Cutler stated, “My job is to represent Facebook to Israel and Israel to Facebook.”
Experts find it concerning that a high-level employee tasked with representing the interests of any government is advocating for the restriction of user content that contradicts those interests. Marwa Fatafta, policy advisor at the digital rights organization Access Now, described the situation as “Clear bias.”
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