Meta’s Oversight Board rules that ‘from the river to the sea’ is not necessarily hate speech

Al Jazeera

‘From the river to the sea’ doesn’t violate Meta rules: Oversight panel

Washington Post

Meta content court rules ‘from the river to the sea’ isn’t hate speech

Guardian

Meta’s moderation board backs decision to allow ‘from the river to the sea’ in posts

Verge

Meta shouldn’t remove ‘from the river to the sea’ as hate speech, says Oversight Board

‘From the River to the Sea’ is not hate speech, Meta’s Oversight Board rules

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi

Jake Sullivan

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

Rajan Menon

Barbara Slavin

Hussein Ibish

Bashir Saade

Michael DiMino

Raz Zimmt

Joost Hiltermann

Arash Reisinezhad

Gary Samore

Negar Mortazavi

Djavad Salehi-Isfahani

Sinan Ülgen

Comfort Ero

Karim Mezran

Nicola Pedde

Tor Wennesland

Hasnain Kazim

Mark Montgomery

Alex Vatanka

Fabrice Balanche

Metaculus

"Tehran will not send its military into the war zone to help Hamas."

"There are good reasons to believe that Iran has decided not to enter the conflict directly."

"The likelihood of an expanded regional war... is low."

"[T]he risk of direct US involvement in the [Israel-Hamas war]... is higher than most people realize."

Despite no country wanting a regional conflict, "each country acts in such a way that exponentially increases its likelihood."

"[D]evelopments on the ground have the potential to escalate quickly, making the unthinkable [a major Middle East war] unavoidable."

The Israel-Hamas war "raises the very real risk of a catastrophic regional conflagration."

"[T]he risk of an expansion of this conflict is real, very, very real and extremely dangerous."

“Due to the expansion of the intensity of the war against Gaza’s civilian residents, expansion of the scope of the war has become inevitable.”

“Everything is in place for a cascading series of events that will culminate in Israel attacking Iran.”

Will the Israel-Gaza War Lead to Regional Escalation?

A Meta-funded oversight body on Wednesday ruled that the phrase "from the river to the sea" — which supports Palestinian nationalism — is acceptable speech which doesn't violate the company's hate speech policies.

The panel reviewed three posts and noted that "the phrase has multiple meanings," adding that the said posts "contain contextual signs of solidarity with Palestinians — but no language calling for violence."

However, a minority of the panel reportedly argued for it to find that the phrase that glorified Hamas (a banned entity), since "from the river to the sea" appears in the group's 2017 charter.

Critics of the phrase, which refers to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, have alleged that it calls for the elimination of the state of Israel.

In a blog post, Meta, which prohibits the "glorification…of various dangerous organizations and individuals," said the phrase "is not linked exclusively to Hamas."

Transparency Center

The Meta panel had received over 2.3K comments related to the three posts. One of the posts it reviewed had about 8M views.

NBC #1

Al Jazeera #1

Washington Post #1

Guardian #1

Verge #1

CNN #1

A Meta-funded oversight body on Wednesday ruled that the pro-Palestinian phrase "from the river to the sea" is acceptable speech and hence doesn't violate the company's hate speech policies.

Washington Post #5052

The panel reviewed three posts and noted that "the phrase has multiple meanings," adding the said posts "contain contextual signs of solidarity with Palestinians — but no language calling for violence."

Al Jazeera #3446

However, a minority of the Meta panel reportedly believed that the phrase ought to be deemed as glorifying Hamas, a banned entity, since it appears in its 2017 charter.

Guardian #3323

Critics have often alleged that the phrase, which refers to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, calls for the elimination of the state of Israel.

CNN #

In a blog post, Meta, which prohibits "glorification…of various dangerous organizations and individuals," said the phrase "is not linked exclusively to Hamas."

Transparency Center #

The Meta panel had received over 2.3K submitted comments related to the three posts. One of the three posts it reviewed had about 8M views.

NBC #5278

The pro-Palestine phrase represents Palestinian aspirations for freedom and justice across their historical homeland. It's a call for liberation from oppression, not a threat to any group. Regardless of faith or ethnicity, it beckons everyone to live as equal citizens. Rather than being restricted, this slogan should be understood in its full context as an expression of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination and peaceful coexistence in a land with deep meaning for multiple communities.

Middle East Eye

Middle East Eye #

Israel-Palestine war: Reclaiming the slogan 'from the river to the sea'

Meta must block this phrase due to its ambiguous and potentially harmful connotations for Israel, which makes the slogan easily misinterpreted and allows critics to accuse well-meaning protesters of supporting antisemitism or genocide. Given the current situation in Gaza, using such a contentious slogan distracts from the urgent need to address the humanitarian crisis. Instead, activists should opt for clearer, unambiguous language that explicitly opposes violence and supports human rights for all.

Micah Lee

Micah Lee #

Why we shouldn't use the slogan "from the river to the sea"

There's a 17% chance that at least 500K Palestinians will be displaced from Gaza before Dec. 31, 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Metaculus #

>500,000 Palestinians displaced?

The Israel-Palestine Conflict

Martin Pope/Contributor/Getty Images News via Getty Images

Meta Oversight Board: 'From River to Sea' Isn't Hate Speech

Israel

Hate speech

Palestine

Freedom of speech & expression

The phrase represents Palestinian aspirations for freedom and justice across their historical homeland. It's a call for liberation from oppression, not a threat to any group. Rather than being restricted, this slogan should be understood in its full context as an expression of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination and peaceful coexistence in a land with deep meaning for multiple communities.

Meta must restrict this phrase due to its ambiguous and potentially harmful connotations for Israel, which makes the slogan easily misinterpreted and allows critics to accuse well-meaning protesters of supporting antisemitism or genocide. Given the current situation in Gaza, using such a contentious slogan distracts from the urgent need to address the humanitarian crisis. Instead, activists should opt for clearer, unambiguous language that explicitly opposes violence and supports human rights for all.

Meta Oversight Board: 'From River to Sea' Isn't Hate Speech

Meta Oversight Board: 'From River to Sea' Isn't Hate Speech

The Spin

Metaculus Prediction

The Controversies

Slavin

Salehi-Isfahani

Reisinezhad

DiMino

Mezran

Mortazavi

Ülgen

Wennesland

Amir-Abdollahian

Ibish

Go Deeper

Articles on this story

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Meta Oversight Board: 'From River to Sea' Isn't Hate Speech

Meta Oversight Board: 'From River to Sea' Isn't Hate Speech

The Spin

Metaculus Prediction

The Controversies

Slavin

Salehi-Isfahani

Reisinezhad

DiMino

Mezran

Mortazavi

Ülgen

Wennesland

Amir-Abdollahian

Ibish

Go Deeper

Articles on this story

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