In February, the Sada Social Centre documented a staggering 972 digital violations targeting Palestinian content across various social media platforms. These violations ranged from coordinated digital attacks and incitement campaigns to hate speech and identity theft, underscoring the ongoing suppression of Palestinian voices online.

According to the centre’s monthly report, Meta-owned platforms—Facebook and WhatsApp—were responsible for over 45% of the violations, including two specific cases on WhatsApp. TikTok followed closely, accounting for 34% of the violations, while X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube made up 15% and 6%, respectively. Notably, Sada Social also recorded, for the first time, a digital violation on the design platform Canva, marking a concerning expansion in the platforms used to target Palestinian content.

The report highlighted that 213 violations—22% of the total—were directed at journalists, media organisations, cartoonists, activists, and human rights defenders. These violations took various forms, including the complete deletion of accounts, restricted access to posts, limitations on interactions and publishing, and the blocking of ad revenue generation. On Instagram, shared posts between accounts were also targeted, further stifling Palestinian expression.

In a particularly alarming trend, Sada Social documented 40 instances of impersonation targeting Palestinian journalist Bisan Ouda on Facebook. These impersonations were carried out through public pages, personal accounts, and fake profiles, often engaging in gender-based digital violence and defamation against Ouda and other Palestinian journalists and activists.

The report also revealed that 451 posts in Hebrew, English, and Spanish were tracked, containing explicit incitement against Palestinians. These posts called for the displacement and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza, the expulsion of Palestinians in the West Bank, and incitement against Palestinian prisoners and former detainees. Such content, the centre noted, reflects a broader campaign of dehumanisation and hostility.

Despite these challenges, Sada Social achieved some success in mitigating the impact of these violations. Through direct communication with platforms, the centre managed to recover and restore access to 15 journalistic accounts on TikTok, offering a glimmer of hope in the face of widespread censorship.

The findings of the report underscore the urgent need for social media companies to address the systemic bias and censorship faced by Palestinian content online. As digital spaces increasingly become battlegrounds for narrative control, the protection of Palestinian voices remains a critical issue for advocates of free expression and human rights.