Meta takes action to eliminate misinformation about Hamas.

Following the European Union’s criticism of social media firms for not doing more to combat misinformation, Meta (META.O) said on Friday that it was taking action, including deleting praise and genuine support for Hamas from its platforms.

On Facebook and other social media, false information and photoshopped photographs have proliferated since the Israeli strike on October 7th by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Meta reported that it has deleted or flagged as distressing around 795,000 pieces of information in Hebrew or Arabic in the three days following the incident.

Additionally, Meta is deleting anything that unmistakably identifies Hamas hostages and temporarily extending its policy against violence and incitement—even when such actions are used to denounce or draw attention to the organization’s predicament.

Content with blurry photos of victims is still permitted, but the business stated that in cases where it is unclear or difficult to make a definitive determination, it would give priority to the safety and privacy of abduction victims.

Numerous Israelis and foreigners have been held captive by Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza after the incident.

Hamas has threatened to broadcast footage of the captives, and Meta has stated that it will promptly remove any such content and stop copies from being re-shared.

Additionally, it is reducing the bar that its algorithm uses to stop suggesting content on its Facebook, Instagram, and Threads platforms that could be against the rules.

While Meta allows for social and political discourse, including news reporting, human rights talks, and objective, academic debate, Hamas is not allowed to use the platforms.

Social media companies have been under pressure from the European Commission to delete dangerous and unlawful information in order to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA), which carries heavy fines for violations.

In contrast to Meta, X (formerly known as Twitter) has requested further information from the Commission regarding infractions on its website. An inquiry into X has been launched by the Commission.

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