Instagram Accused of Censorship of Palestinian Content, So Change Algorithm
Accused of Palestinian Content Censorship, Instagram Changed Algorithm
Tech company Instagram reportedly changed their algorithm after being accused of censoring pro-Palestinian content.
This change is mainly related to the content priority setting algorithm on Instagram. Two Financial Times sources say Instagram has changed how they prioritize Instagram Stories that are shown in users' timelines.
These social media services usually prioritize original content over content that is reshared on Stories. With this algorithm change, both types of content will be shared equally.
"Periodically we will give reposted content the same priority as compared to original content," explained an Instagram spokesperson.
Furthermore, he explained Instagram's policy to prioritize original content rather than repost. According to him, original content is preferred by users rather than repost.
"Reposted stories did not reach as many users as we expected and it was not a pleasant experience," he said as reported by Insider.
The allegation of pro-Palestinian content censorship was filed by a group of employees who complained that pro-Palestinian content could not appear for users when the Gaza conflict raged.
They have repeatedly complained about content censored by Instagram's automatic moderation engine. One example is accidentally deleting content about the Al-Aqsa mosque. However, employees do not believe the censorship was accidental.
read too:
movie 2021 TW|Metropolis
Occupation 2: Operation Rainfall 2021 chinese SUB
The Mauritanian 2021 full movie ZH
In The Heights movies in chinese
watch LUCA movie online
"This large-scale moderation is often biased towards marginalized groups," explained a source from an Instagram employee as quoted by The Verge.
In response to this, an Instagram spokesperson said the content priority that Instagram gave to users was based on the content habits that users liked.
Thus, it encourages people to conclude that the company is trying to suppress a certain number of views or topics from their users.
"We want to be clear, that's not what we mean ... This applies to any post that is reshared on Stories, about anything," said an Instagram spokeswoman.
This algorithm change according to Instagram is not just a response to concerns about pro-Palestinian content.
However, changes were made to address the problem of re-posting content which is considered difficult for other users to reach.
He believes that users still prefer to see original Stories, so they will look for ways to highlight original content in Stories through new features.
In recent weeks Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have been heavily criticized for censoring content around the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Not long ago, Instagram was reported to have restricted the accounts of a Palestinian writer, who later dodged that an error had occurred with the automated system.
His party later apologized after many accounts were unable to post content related to Palestine for several hours on May 6.
Instagram says it has repeatedly heard users say they are more interested in real stories from close friends than seeing people re-share someone else's posts.
Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri said this was related to a bug in their system.
# Facebook Overwhelmed After Ratings Drop Related to the Palestinian Issue
Facebook is reportedly overwhelmed after getting many 1-star ratings on the Apple Store and Google Play Store app stores. The rating is thought to be a coordinated campaign on social media by Palestinian support groups and activists.
Quoted by The Verge, Facebook sees the situation as an internal priority issue. In fact, according to sources, Facebook has reportedly contacted the Apple Store and Google Play Store to remove these bad reviews or ratings. However, Apple has rejected Facebook's request to remove the review.
While Google has yet to issue a statement regarding the request to remove 1-star reviews on its app store, Play Store by Facebook.
Palestinian activists protested against Facebook's alleged censorship and removal of all pro-Palestinian content and accounts after the Israeli attack. Activists have also appealed to people to leave the Facebook app with one star reviews.
The campaign was shared across social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook.
As of Monday (24/5), the rating for the Facebook application on the App Store has 2.3 out of 5 star reviews. Meanwhile, on the Play Store application store, Facebook has a rating of 2.4.
Quoted by NBC News, many reviews include comments decorated by its users. Activists accuse Facebook of silencing Palestinian voices, and several hashtags such as #FreePalestine and #GazaUnderAttack adorn the comments section.
A Facebook spokesperson said in a statement claiming that the company does not censor the activity of its users, but it does
n Claims to apply its policies equally.
The Facebook spokesman added that it has a dedicated team of Arabic and Hebrew speakers who are "closely monitoring the field situation, which is focused on ensuring the removal of harmful content,".
Facebook and Twitter are accused of being social media that often censor Palestinian voices by deleting pro-Palestinian posts and accounts.