Meta has responded after it was called out for removing Pro-Palestine accounts that were used to share content from inside Gaza with millions of followers.
The company, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, said the accounts were removed after its staff noticed a potential hacking attempt.
The @eye.on.palestine Instagram account had more than 6 million followers when it was deleted. Its second (backup) account @eye.on.palestine2, was also reportedly deleted, as well as its Facebook and Threads accounts.
The @EyeonPalestine has also disappeared on X, formerly known as Twitter, and is listed as no longer being in existence.
The accounts had been posting videos and photos from inside Gaza and have been a crucial platform for activists sharing updates on the escalating violence in the besieged city.
Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes on the strip, home to 2.3 million people, after a Hamas incursion into the country’s south on October 7.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement, “These accounts were initially locked for security reasons after signs of compromise, and we’re working to make contact with the account owners to ensure they have access.”
“We did not disable these accounts because of any content they were sharing,” he said.
The removal of the accounts flared outrage among followers, with hundreds of people calling on Meta to bring them back. Many have criticized the platform for censoring pro-Palestinian news since October 7.
Users with public Instagram accounts have also reported a considerable decline in the number of views on their stories in an attempt to “shadow ban” content in support of Palestine.
