Meta: Update on Content Policies Regarding "Zionists"

Today, the platform "Meta" announced that it will begin removing more posts targeting "Zionists," a term used to refer to the Jewish people and Israelis instead of supporters of the political movement. The parent company of "Facebook" and "Instagram" stated in a blog post that it will remove content that "attacks Zionists when the term does not clearly refer to the political movement and uses anti-Semitic stereotypes or threatens harm through intimidation or violence directed against Jews or Israelis." The social media giant indicated that its current policies, which treat the term "Zionist" as representative of the Jewish or Israeli people in only two narrow circumstances, have not adequately addressed how people broadly use the word. This policy update follows "Meta's" consultations with 145 stakeholders representing civil society and academic circles worldwide, amidst rising tensions in the Middle East due to the war being waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip. "Meta" has faced criticism for years regarding its handling of content related to the Middle East, which has intensified after the war began, as human rights groups accused the company of suppressing pro-Palestinian content on "Facebook" and "Instagram."