KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Facebook post and video on the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been restored by Meta, but with caveats on why it was reinstated.
“This post is allowed for public awareness. In some cases, we allow content that would otherwise go against our Community Standards.
“We balance the value of public awareness against the risk of harm. We consider things like: Perspectives debated as part of a political process (and) information related to public health and safety,” the note states.
It is unclear which community standards the posts violate, as Meta has not provided further elaboration on this part.
The video post in question was uploaded on July 31 in which Anwar paid tribute to Haniyeh, who was Hamas’ political chief, and condemned his assassination which took place in Tehran, Iran on the same day.
Another Facebook and Instagram post of a photo of Anwar meeting Hamas leaders and embracing Haniyeh while in Qatar, also uploaded on July 31, had likewise been removed, and is now reinstated on Facebook with the same explanation on why it was restored.
The removals prompted condemnation from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which demanded an explanation and apology from Meta.
PMO also labelled Meta’s actions as “discriminatory, unjust, a blatant suppression of free expression as well as an affront to the legitimate struggle of the Palestinians in their pursuit for justice and human rights.”
Anwar also criticised Meta for being disrespectful in removing videos, condolence messages and criticisms related to Haniyeh’s assassination and warned the tech giant not to act as an “instrument” of the Zionist regime.
Earlier, Scoop reported that Meta has apologised for the removal of the contents, with a Meta spokesperson saying: “We apologise for an operational error where content from the Prime Minister’s Facebook and Instagram Pages was removed, and the content has since been restored with the correct newsworthy label.” – August 6, 2024
