The independent Oversight Board, responsible for reviewing content decisions on Facebook and Instagram, announced on Tuesday its intention to assess whether the pro-Palestinian expression "from the river to the sea" violates the platforms' guidelines, including their prohibition of hate speech.
Operating akin to a court, the Oversight Board disclosed in a statement its decision to review three cases involving the phrase as used in comments or posts on Facebook. These cases, all from November, followed the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel on October 7 and the initiation of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Each case involved reports from other Facebook users indicating that the phrase violated platform rules on hate speech, incitement, or violent organizations. In one instance, 937 users reported the phrase 951 times. In another, four users reported it seven times, and in the third, one user reported it, the board stated. However, Facebook did not remove the phrase in any of the cases. Initial complaints were handled by automated systems, and when they reached human moderators, it was determined that the phrase did not breach platform rules, according to the board. Subsequently, users opposed to the phrase appealed to the Oversight Board.
"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," the board stated on its website. Meta is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. The Oversight Board announced that it would welcome public comments on the matter for the next two weeks before deliberating and issuing a decision that would likely be binding on Facebook and Instagram.
The phrase is commonly used in pro-Palestinian slogans and chants, including at protests across the country, and has long been a topic of controversy. It generally refers to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea — the focal point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — and its deeper meaning is widely debated.
Some interpret the phrase as a general appeal to Palestinian nationalism, while others, including Hamas, have used it to advocate for a Palestinian state covering the entire region, which would mean the elimination of Israel as an independent state.
The Oversight Board summarized the contrasting views as follows: "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." Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the sole Palestinian American in Congress, is among those who have used the phrase. In November, House lawmakers voted 234-188 to censure her, alleging that she had called for the destruction of Israel.
Tlaib refuted this, stating that the phrase "is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate."
One of the Facebook posts under review by the Oversight Board garnered approximately 8 million views. The post featured "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,'" according to the board.
Human moderators reviewed the user reports and rejected them, and Meta's management has supported these decisions, according to the board.
"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 stated, summarizing Meta's management's position.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg first discussed the establishment of the appeals board in 2018, arguing that social media companies needed an external check on their content moderation decisions.
In a notable decision, the Oversight Board in 2021 upheld the suspension of former President Donald Trump from Meta's platforms but deemed an indefinite ban inappropriate. Trump's accounts were reinstated by Meta last year.
The board currently comprises 22 members, including a former prime minister of Denmark, free speech advocates, and law professors from around the world, according to its records.