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
who speak like this never have been in Israel!!!! and important than that that you can say it to a lot of countries... so it is petty that stupide people go like goats ....after sopite sentence and don't know what is mining......hope for a better days for all world without the evil in our world - just peace
In between the river and sea resides the state of Israel.
i.e the actual meaning of the phrase is that Israel should be erased, with its entire population, and and you say in words that people should be erased the next thing you get is that people are actually hurt...
From the river to the sea - is an Anti-Zionist chent calling the distruction of israel.
The river stands for the Jordan river and the sea is the Mediterranean sea - Israel's states borders /
Therefore, the real intention is a call to replace the State of Israel with all its inhabitants by the residents of Palestine - an anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic call to destroy the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
The call "from the river to the sea" means that from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean sea (where Israel is located - see world map for reference) will be free for Palestinians. Palestinians don't want israel and don't want the Jewish and Christians in Israel. That means that "free" for Palestinians means free from Israeli jews and Christians. That is a call for genocide on the non Islamic population of Israel.
אתחיל בכך שבחרתי בעברית מבחינה סמלית והזדהות.
כל סוג של סיסמה וקריאה בהפגנות, או ברשתות החברתיות ושאינו מבוסס על ידע מעמיק בהיסטוריה של הקונפליקט, נחשבים בעיני (וכך גם היה צריך להיות בעיני הכלל) כשטיפת מוח ולא יותר מכך.
From the river to the sea
מעבר לעובדה שרוב הצועקים כלל לא יודעים באיזה נהר ובאיזה ים מדובר, למשפט יש משמעות אחת בלבד- השמדתה של מדינת ישראל והקמת יישות אחרת במקומה. התמיכה בחמאס (שהיא עצמה מצהירה על כוונות להשמיד את ישראל)תוך שימוש בסיסמה הנ״ל, לא מותיר כל ספק מה עובר בראשם של הצעקנים כאשר הם מדקלמים את הסיסמה הזו.
רשתות חברתיות עם כל היתרונות שבהן, יוצרות עיוות של המציאות ע״י כך שמאפשרות למיליונים ״להביע דעה״ בנושאים שאין להם מושג כלל, ושלראשונה נחשפים לנושא רק דרך פוסטים של אחרים (בעלי אינטרס) וללא לימוד עצמי של הנושא.
מטא ורשתות אחרות יהיו חייבים להתנהל תחת רגולציה כלשהי שמנוהלת ע״י גורם שלישי שאינו יכול להיות צד אינטרסנטי; אחרת הרשות החברתיות יהפכו בעתיד לגורם שלמעשה יצית סכסוכים בכל רחבי העולם. מצער לומר שאנחנו לא כל כך רחוקים מהמצב הזה, מאחר שישנו צד שמנצל ביעילות אבל בציניות את הרשתות החברתיות.
“From the River to the sea” sounds innocuous but it is not. It is a propaganda rallying cry to wipe Israel off the map from the Jordan “River” to the Mediterranean “sea”. It’s a catchy tune easy to remember. It doesn’t specify where the 7 million inhabitant's of the tiny nation of Israel would go. Like all propaganda campaign slogans, this one seeks to delegitimize the sovereign nation of Israel’s existence & demonize its people. There are no other slogans chanted at any other minority nation in an effort to destroy that nation. It is highly offensive & antisemitic.
Only 15 million Jews remain on the planet after the Nazi WW2 genocide, half live in Israel. Half of Israel are Jews ethnically cleansed from other mideast countries or descendants from the land. Israel is the only Jewish nation, surrounded by 24 Muslim ethno-states, yet only in Israel are all religions & women welcome & equal.
“From the river to the sea” means there will be no Jews between the river (Jordan) to the sea (Mediterranean). Calling to the extinction of Jews (or any other people) from a certain area is an antisemite hate speech. Didn’t you learn anything from 1939?
Since October 7 I have been absolutely shocked by what I see on social media on all platforms which in my mind constitutes of hate, antisemitism and delegitimization of the state of Israel the only state in the world that offers a safe haven to the Jewish people. One of the worse proponents of the oldest hate appears to be coming from the pro Palestinian groups in US campuses and elsewhere.There is nothing wrong with criticizing Israel’s actions in Gaza or it’s government led by Benjamin Netanyahu ( Israelis themselves do it) or sympathizing with the plight of the Palestinian people but the blatant pro Hamas messaging echoing their charter calling for the annihilation of Israel is unacceptable and shouldn’t be allowed on Meta platforms. One such call is ‘from the River to the sea Palestine will be free’ which we know what it means it means the sovereignty of the state of Israel with its 9 million people living there is threatened. It means the only Jewish state in the world will not be Jewish anymore but will be overtaken by Islamist extremists that want it gone. This slogan should not be allowed. It’s message is an existential threat to the state of Israel. The lies spread about its meaning are shameful. There is only one river and one sea ( the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea ) in between lies Israel when they call to free Palestine’ from the River to the sea’ they call for the destruction of Israel for it to cease to exist. Please remove those offensive posts from your platforms. They are dangerous and incite violence and call for genocide of all Israelis.
The phrase "from the river to the sea" is associated with a specific political context, particularly in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It's commonly used by some groups or individuals who advocate for the elimination of the state of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian state. The phrase implies the idea of a unified Palestinian state stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, effectively erasing Israel from the map.
While the phrase itself may not inherently be hate speech, it is deeply contentious and provocative because of its association with the denial of Israel's right to exist as a sovereign state. Its usage in this context can be perceived as a call for the destruction of Israel, which is why it's often viewed as inflammatory and offensive, especially to those who support Israel's right to exist.
“From the river to the sea” is not an antisemitic phrase but rather a declaration of nationalist pride by the Palestinians and those that support. It is no different than us Americans using the words “From sea to shining sea” in our national anthem.
This does not imply we/they/anyone who wants to use it wants to attack/erase/terrorize another peoples, but rather a promotion in pride in ones on land/heritage/support. Freedom for innocent Palestinian people is a humanitarian act not a terrorist one…
Shame on you!! Giving a hand to anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews and Israelis!!
Your entire platform is full of swastikas, horrible sentences against Jews, physical and verbal violence against Jews!
You are no less worse than Nazis
There are about 2.5 BILLION MUSLIMS around the world. Not all would like to kill the Jews that live from “the river to the sea”, but a big enough portion does.
There are only 15 MILLION JEWS around the world, most of them live in Israel.
How can you run a fair survey under this huge gap in numbers?
You should protect the Jewish minority and ban the slogan that calls for their genocide not because of a survey, but because it’s the right and moral thing to do! Protect the Jewish minority!
the phrase "from the river to the sea" originated from Hamas, a terror organization that its main purpose is to wipe out all the jews in Israel and abolish the state of Israel. Even before of October 7, in every violent demonstration of Palestinians around the boarder of Israel, this phrase was chanted while throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails towards the Israeli side, burning tires and in a few occasions shooting and killing Israeli soldiers. All of this while waving the Palestinian flag and chanting "from the river to the sea Palestine will be free", and celebrating when israelis got injured or killed. What is that if not incitement against israelis and Jewish people? What is that if not a preview for October 7?
In current demonstrations against Israel, ppl are marching with the Palestinian flag, chanting "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free", which means, Israel will be wiped off "from the river to the sea", (which means, wiped off completely from all its territories), and shouting towards Jewish students "we are Hamas", "October 7 will happen again and again", alongside the famous phrase "from the river to the sea Palestine will be free".
What is this if not incitement against jews? What is this if not a hate speech?
what is this if not antisemitic and a call to abolish the state of Israel?
You HAVE to remove this phrase, otherwise you are an accomplice.
Hello, my name is Guy Mekayten from Rehovot, Israel.
The sentence "FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA" is not only abusive to Israeli and Jewish people in general, but it also suggest that the state of Israel should be annihilated(!!!). You only need to do 1+1 to understand it.
Meta should not only be ashamed for even asking if this satanic phrase should be banned, but you all should be arrested!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello,
When I see or hear the phrase "FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA" I understand that this phrase is calling for annihilation of the only Jewish state, Israel. I don't see any other interpretation for it.
Now I understand that this call can't really make Israel to go a way but even suggesting that is basically saying we hate you and we don't want you to exist anymore which is, from my point of you and all the other Jews in the world an anti-Semitic phrase.
Since not only I think that but also governments think so too, in some places, laws have been created for that.
Now you can decide what ever you want, but one thing I've learn from history is that history will be the judge of that.
I can only urge you to think very carefully about the implications of any decisions you make since your platform is known already for helping polarizing people and nations.
Thank you.
I think it is absolutely appalling to be censoring BIPOC individuals, ESPECIALLY Palestinians during a time like this. I think it is INSANE that they have to fight the censorship and rely on the algorithm to keep their content relevant. Any media blackouts on these individuals is obviously racist and extremely dangerous during an ongoing GENOCIDE that we’re watching in real time unfold in Gaza. I am absolutely disgusted by the amount of censorship they have received. It is inhumane and, have I mentioned racist. TARGETING OF PALESTINIAN, SUDANESE, CONGOLESE, AND ANY GROUP OF MARGINALIZED PEOPLE EXPERIENCING GENOCIDE IS RACIST. To clarify, “Semitic people or Semites is an obsolete term for an ethnic, cultural or racial group associated with people of the Middle East, including Arabs, Jews, Akkadians, and Phoenicians.” You cannot be Anti-Semitic if you’re literally fighting for Palestinians who are by definition ALSO Semitic people.
From the river to the sea - most of the people who say from the river to the sea do not even know which river and which sea they are talking about.
It is about the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea which are the western and eastern borders of the State of Israel.
from the west - Mediterranean Sea.
From the east - Jordan River and the Kingdom of Jordan.
So where is the problem?
First, it's a cancellation of the existence of the State of Israel. Because the call is for the entire territory of the country, as mentioned from the river to the sea- In other words, genocide for the Jewish residents of the State of Israel.
The second thing is a historical deception.
No state recognizes as a Palestinian state and there never was. After the end of the British mandate and the establishment of the State of Israel, the residents of Gaza were Egyptian citizens while the residents of the West Bank were citizens of the Kingdom of Jordan.
So again the reading is incorrect, misleading, and encourages antisemitism.
These sentences call for my expulsion from my country, my personal destruction and the destruction of my people. The Land of Israel has always been the land of the Jewish people, a call to expel them from their country is an anti-Semitic call that is similar to the calls that were made about the Jews in Europe in the 1930s and the end is sad and revolting.
This chants are inciting anti-semitism and call for the eradication of the jewish state. It’s as simple as that. They’re calling for one state that will erase Israel. This is hate speech.