SUMMARY
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NBC News on Sunday, May 23, US time, reported Pro-Palestinian activists were downvoting Facebook on the iOS and Android app stores to protest the company’s alleged censorship of of Palestinian accounts and posts.
The campaign is being promoted across social media sites, and has resulted in the average Facebook review score going from 4 out of 5 to 2.3 out of 5 on Apple’s App Store, and 2.4 out of 5 on the Google Play Store.
NBC said many of the reviews include comments on the alleged censorship on Palestinian voices and hashtags such as #FreePalestine or #GazaUnderAttack.
Facebook is reportedly treating the campaign very seriously and has been categorized as SEV1 or severity 1 – an internal descriptor for major issues, and the second highest alert after SEV0 for when the site is down. NBC saw the categorization on an internal Facebook employee message board.
Leaked screenshots seen by the news site also purportedly show Facebook contacting the app stores to ask for the removal of the negative reviews. Apple reportedly declined.
The site also reported that accusations of pro-Palestine censorship have been going on for years, with the situation escalating amid the active conflict between Israel and Hamas.
In a statement, Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone said their “policies are designed to give everyone a voice” and that they have a dedicated team, including Arabic and Hebrew speakers “closely monitoring the situation on the ground.” – Rappler.com
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