Case Description
Due to a technical glitch, our public comments portal for cases related to the "From the River to the Sea" phrase closed earlier than planned. To ensure everyone has a chance to share their input, we've reopened it for 24 hours. The portal will now close at 12pm BST on May 23rd.
These three cases concern content decisions made by Meta, all on Facebook, which the Oversight Board intends to address together.
The three posts were shared by different users in November 2023, following the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7 and the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Each post contains the phrase “From the river to the sea.” All three were reported by users for violating Meta’s Community Standards. The company decided to leave all three posts on Facebook. For each case, the Board will decide whether the content should be removed under Meta’s policies and according to its human rights responsibilities. Numbers of views and reports are correct as of the end of February 2024.
The first case concerns a comment from a Facebook user on another user’s video. The video has a caption encouraging others to “speak up” with numerous hashtags including “#ceasefire” and “#freepalestine.” The comment on the post contains the phrase “FromTheRiverToTheSea” in hashtag form, as well as several additional hashtags including “#DefundIsrael.” The comment had about 3,000 views and was reported seven times by four users. The reports were closed after Meta’s automated systems did not send them for human review within 48 hours.
In the second case, a Facebook user posted what appears to be a generated image of fruit floating on the sea that form the words from the phrase, along with “Palestine will be free.” The post had about 8 million views and was reported 951 times by 937 users. The first report on the post was closed, again because Meta’s automated systems did not send it for human review within 48 hours. Subsequent reports by users were reviewed and assessed as non-violating by human moderators.
In the third case, a Facebook page reshared a post from the page of a community organization in Canada in which a statement from the “founding members” of the organization declared support for “the Palestinian people,” condemning their “senseless slaughter” by the “Zionist State of Israel” and “Zionist Israeli occupiers.” The post ends with the phrase “From The River To The Sea.” This post had less than 1,000 views and was reported by one user. The report was automatically closed.
The Facebook users who reported the content, and subsequently appealed Meta’s decisions to leave up the content to the Board, claimed the phrase was breaking Meta’s rules on Hate Speech, Violence and Incitement or Dangerous Organizations and Individuals. The user who reported the content in the first case stated that the phrase violates Meta’s policies prohibiting content that promotes violence or supports terrorism. The users who reported the content in the second and third cases stated that the phrase constitutes hate speech, is antisemitic and is a call to abolish the state of Israel.
After the Board selected these cases for review, Meta confirmed its original decisions were correct. Meta informed the Board that it analyzed the content under three policies – Violence and Incitement, Hate Speech and Dangerous Organizations and Individuals – and found the posts did not violate any of these policies. Meta explained the company is aware that “From the river to the sea” has a long history and that it had reviewed use of the phrase on its platform after October 7, 2023. After that review, Meta determined that, without additional context, it cannot conclude that “From the river to the sea” constitutes a call to violence or a call for exclusion of any particular group, nor that it is linked exclusively to support for Hamas.
The Board selected these cases to consider how Meta should moderate the use of the phrase given the resurgence in its use after October 7, 2023, and controversies around the phrase’s meaning. On the one hand, the phrase has been used to advocate for the dignity and human rights of Palestinians. On the other hand, it could have antisemitic implications, as claimed by the users who submitted the cases to the Board. This case falls within the Board’s strategic priority of Crisis and Conflict Situations.
The Board would appreciate public comments that address:
- The origin and current uses of the phrase: “From the river to the sea.”
- Research into online trends in content using the phrase.
- Research into any associated online and offline harms from the use of the phrase.
- Meta’s human rights responsibilities in relation to content using the phrase including freedom of expression, freedom of association, and equality and non-discrimination.
- State and institutional (e.g., university) responses to the use of the phrase (e.g., during protests) and the human rights impacts of those responses.
As part of its decisions, the Board can issue policy recommendations to Meta. While recommendations are not binding, Meta must respond to them within 60 days. As such, the Board welcomes public comments proposing recommendations that are relevant to these cases.
Comments
From the river to the sea is calling for the genocide of Israelis and Jews. Is this what you are allowing? Because it starts in Israel and will spread to the rest of the world. The radicals planned and paid for this slogan to be spread around the world. Stop the ignorants. Stop the hate of Israel. Israel is here to stay.
Israel is fighting and targeting only terrorists not innocent's people.
Remember 9/11!!!
Stop the calling for Jews genocide!!!
Jesus was a Jew as well!
From the River To The Sea is a Hamas ideal, referring to the complete destruction of Israel and annihilation of Jews
This must be banned as hate speach
"From the river to the sea" is clearly saying -- kill all Jewish people and destroy Israel.
Please, remove all posts that contain such dangerous statements.
Thank you.
These posts preclude coexistence and call for the extermination of the jewish state . They are offensive, hateful, and a call for terrorist action. This is hate speech with a call for action. This statement should be forbidden on sny social media platform
The slogan “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free” calls for the elimination and murder of all Jews from Israel and the destruction of the state of Israel. It is hard to imagine a slogan that represents more hateful speech than this one. It should be banned from all social media platforms.
Posts that include “FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA” means to destroy Israel and the only democratic land in the middle east. It's beginning in Israel and next will be all aroun the world.
From the river to the sea is a call to the anihilation of all Israelis between the Jordan river to the Mediterranean Sea. That is a call for genocide and should be banned
This is 100% genocidal hate speech that advocates for the destruction of the one and only Jewish state and the mass murder of its Jewish population.
October 7 was the largest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. Since then, the world has actively targetted Jewish people. While the words of this slogan are not in themselves problematic, they are calling for the annihilation of the Jewish people and the only Jewish state in the world.
Why is there protection of human rights for everyone but the Jewish people? The double standards are as clear as day. These terrorists must be held accountable for genocidal intent. Israel, unlike Hamas, is not engaging in genocidal practices. It is attempting to stop Hamas from committing all our genocide of Jewish people, what their doctrine explicitly calls for.
We demand that you do better and protect Jewish people from incitement and forces that seek to bring about our annihilation.
From the River to the Sea is a genocidal statement. I hope Facebook does not tolerate genocide. Hamas’ very charter is the genocide of all Jews. Israel, on the other hand, does everything possible to protect civilians while they eradicate terrorists.
The expression "from the river to the sea" is a direct and unambiguous call for the genocide of the Israeli population and should be banned as hate speech on all social media.
Please remove “from River to the sea” posts from your platform. It’s antisemitism and genocide to Israel and Jewish people. It’s unfair to keep that hatred on Facebook!!!!!
The Anti Semitic content and constant harassment of Jews by the "Pro Hamas" demonstrators, in support of a terrorist movement clearly violates Meta's current stated standards. Despite this, Meta's actions allow free access to supporters of Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist anti Semitic groups. I would hope that you will see that permitting calls to EXTERMINATE an entire people (Jews) is hate speech of the vilest sort!
"From the (Jordon) river to the (Mediterranean) sea is hate speech"
It is according to the Human Rights Declaration and anti-discrimination regulations not lawful to accept or tolorate phrases like "From the river...". It is clearly strictly genocidal to write and talk like this.
Therefore I ask all people of the media, esp. those who enable opinions to be spead in the social media not to accept those statements and to prohibit these.
The abhorent slogan from the river to the sea is a call for the total annihilation of the Jewish people. This is the Canary in the mine that is a wake up call for what is the start of right versus wrong war in the world.
One idealism versus another.
One set of values versus another. GOOD versus EVIL.
“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” is an open call for the complete annihilation of the State of Israel and its citizens.
This is 100% genocidal hate speech that advocates for the destruction of the one and only Jewish state and the mass murder of its Jewish population.
Please cease disseminating this hateful phrase that promotes death to Jews and destruction of the Jewish homeland.
צריך לאסור את השימוש במושג מפני שמשמעותו מחיקה של מדינת ישראל.
ישראל והרשות הפלסטינית הן אלו שיושבות פיזית בין הנהר - נהר הירדן לים- הים התיכון.
רוב מי משתמש במושג כלל לא מבין את המיקום הגיאוגרפי או המשמעות המדינית.
It means discrimination of a whole nation, they should be prohibited