Meta Oversight Board requests comments on posts containing “From the river to the sea”

Meta’s Oversight Board is an independent body of experts that reviews Meta's content moderation decisions on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads to determine whether Meta’s moderation is consistent with the company’s policies, values, and human rights commitments, including freedom of expression. On May 7, the Oversight Board announced its review of moderation decisions made on three posts containing the phrase “From the river to the sea” and issued a call for public comments. On May 21, FIRE submitted a comment urging the Board to affirm Meta’s original decisions to leave up the three posts. FIRE explained that reversing Meta's decision would ban political speech on one of the most hotly contested issues of the day and be inconsistent with what Meta calls its “paramount” commitment to free expression.

On September 4, the Oversight Board affirmed Meta’s decision to leave up the Facebook posts as FIRE recommended.