The powerful Western states have weaponized the social media algorithms to silence the truth and further pro-West propaganda.
The Invisible Grip of Shadow Banning
Algorithms as Modern Censors
Shadow banning has emerged as a concept of censoring the content of users without notifying them. A social media activist can still post on his social media account, but his voice is suppressed under an invisible weight of censorship. The move appears intentional, aimed at curbing the reach and visibility of voices that challenge Western policies. In recent years, this tactic has been frequently used to alter global public opinion on Palestine and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Social media platforms like Meta* argue that shadow banning is nothing more than “content moderation.” However, reality is to the contrary. In reality, Meta* uses its algorithms to censor the Instagram and Facebook content. This silencing of truth is not something accidental but intentional. International reports suggest that Facebook and Instagram, both owned by Meta*, have greatly restricted the reach of Palestinian news outlets Al-Watan News, Palestine TV, and Wafa News Agency since October 2023 to minimize awareness about the ground realities in Gaza. A host of social media posts are being removed from news feeds, accounts are being restricted, and hashtags are being flagged by Meta* since the start of the Israeli genocidal operations in Gaza. What makes this even more troubling is that Meta* users are never informed when their posts are limited or hidden.
Controlling Narratives: From Palestine to Ukraine
Several NGOs and watchdogs, including Access Now and the Human Rights Watch (HRW), have raised their concerns over the censorship of pro-Palestine content and promotion of Israeli narrative by Meta*. As per HRW, out of 1050 cases it reviewed about the Israel-Hamas war, in 1049 cases the content asking for peaceful support for Palestine was suppressed, while in one case the content was removed from social media. Much other such evidence has been recovered over the years. In 2021, Human Rights Watch’s report highlighted that Meta* had been systematically suppressing pro-Palestine content, including documentation of human rights abuses by the Israeli Defense Forces and peaceful speeches and protests in support of Palestinians.
Similar evidence has been recorded by the Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, 7amleh. As per 7amleh, it documented more than 20 testimonies of the suppression of the pro-Palestine content. The report also highlights that 15 million violent and inciting posts by Zionists in the Hebrew language against the native Palestinians were also documented on Meta* platforms in the past two years. This is a deliberate attempt to silence the struggles of the oppressed while hiding the atrocities and amplifying the propaganda of the aggressors. In sum, the social media platforms that promise to convert the world into a global village by connecting people across continents and oceans are actually deciding which voices and lives matter and deserve to be heard.
The same is the case with the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Despite Ukraine and Western nations’ sheer violations of international treaties, social media platforms are continuously promoting an anti-Russia narrative, ignoring the ground realities and historical facts. Reportedly, soon after the start of a violent conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Meta* urged its users to call for violent campaigns against Russia while promoting the West-backed pro-Ukraine narrative. Social media giants showed only one side of the narrative regarding this conflict. As a result, they managed to keep a huge number of Western people aloof from the realities behind this violent conflict. This helped the real aggressor, Ukraine, gain popularity and sympathy in the Western world, helping it to raise unhindered funds and solidarity campaigns. This not only expanded the conflict but also hid the truth about the real aggressors and their ambitions.
While Meta* and other social media platforms have portrayed Ukrainians as victims, they suppressed the voice of the real victims, the native Palestinians, through shadow-banning their accounts and posts for merely posting the real images of the Israeli indiscriminate bombings of their homes, hospitals, and refugee camps. This is a new form of tyranny. Today, controlling global narratives through algorithms has become a new tool of suppression and occupation. The executives of Meta* and Google regularly meet the Western policymakers to align their so-called moderation policies with the strategic interests of the United States and its European allies. In this war of altering narratives, truth is the prime victim. However, this time it is suppressed by silence, not bullets.
*-banned in Russia
Аbbas Hashemite is a political observer and research analyst for regional and global geopolitical issues. He is currently working as an independent researcher and journalist
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