Meta rules pro-Palestine chant 'from the river to the sea' is not hate speech

Meta's moderation board ruled on Wednesday that posts containing the pro-Palestinian phrase 'from the river to the sea' should be allowed on the social media platform.

The Oversight Board ruled that the phrase had not violated Meta's Community Standards on hate speech so it should not be removed.

The move comes after the Oversight Board announced it would review three cases involving the phrase not taken down in November and whether the content should be removed.

One piece of content was a comment on a video encouraging others to "speak up", including "#ceasefire", "#PalestineWillBeFree" and "#DefundIsrael" hashtags, with heart emojis in the colours of the Palestinian flag.

The second post was an image of floating watermelon slices, often used for Palestinian solidarity because of the same colours as the Palestinian flag, that made the phrase "Palestina will be free". The last post supported Palestinian families of all faiths fighting to survive.

One post was initially reported as "promoting violence" or "supporting terrorism", while the other two were reported as "hate speech", "antisemitic", and as a call to abolish the state of Israel.

However, the Board found the content had contained "contextual signs of solidarity" with the people of Palestine and did not call for violence or glorify Hamas, which is designated as a Tier 1 dangerous organisation by Meta.

After "extensive research" and consulting with the public, the Board found the phrase had many meanings and was used by people with different intentions.

The regulator "drew heavily" on public comments and expert analysis, with over 2,400 people with a "wide range of opinions" contributing their views.

Because of the phrase's "multiple meanings", the Board determined that its use alone, regardless of context, could not be seen as harmful, violent, or discriminatory.

While the Board found some hashtags were more critical of the Israeli military, its research did not identify posts "explicitly" inciting violence against Jewish people or for Hamas attacks.

Following 7 October, an independent analysis commissioned by the board found that the phrase increased by fifty-fold on Facebook in six months on English-language posts. At the same time, Arabic posts doubled during this time.

"From the river to the sea" has been used globally since the 1960s at pro-Palestine protests, calling for an end to the occupation and justice for all Palestinians within the borders of historic Palestine, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

However, supporters of Israel claim the slogan is "antisemitic" and calls for Israel to be "eradicated".

A German court convicted an activist for chanting the phrase at a pro-Palestine rally, stating the chant "denied the right of the state of Israel to exist" in August. While an ongoing case involving the same phrase has been postponed.