Amnesty Criticizes Meta for Role in Inciting Violence, Genocide and Censoring Palestinians

Amnesty International has raised alarms over Meta’s recent changes to its content policies, warning they could fuel mass violence and potentially genocide. The company has a troubling history in relation to human rights, notably its role in the 2017 atrocities against the Rohingya in Myanmar. A recent whistleblower complaint filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accuses Meta of disregarding human rights and misleading investors about its role in fostering violence.

On January 7, 2025, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced major changes to the company’s content policies, including lifting bans on hate speech and harassment targeting racial minorities. The company also plans to reduce automated content moderation, a move critics warn will result in the spread of harmful content. Although these changes currently apply only in the U.S., Meta has suggested that they may eventually extend globally.

Human rights experts fear these changes will exacerbate the spread of hate speech online. A former Meta employee told Platformer, “I really think this is a precursor for genocide. Real people’s lives are actually going to be endangered.” Meta’s algorithms have a history of amplifying harmful content. For example, in 2017, Facebook played a pivotal role in spreading anti-Rohingya hate speech in Myanmar, which contributed to mass violence, including killings and forced displacement. A 2018 UN investigation found that Myanmar’s military should be tried for genocide, and Facebook was blamed for facilitating the spread of incitement.

Despite these findings, Meta has not fully accepted responsibility for its role. Rohingya communities, who have sought compensation, requested funding for education programs in refugee camps, but Meta rejected a $1 million request—less than 0.0007% of the company’s $134 billion in 2023 revenue.

Furthermore, Meta has been accused of censoring Palestinian users. A report from the Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media (7amleh) titled Erased and Suppressed: Palestinian Testimonies of Meta’s Censorship documents 20 cases of Palestinian journalists and influencers experiencing content removals, account suspensions, and reduced reach. This censorship has had significant financial, social, and political consequences for the individuals involved.

According to 7amleh’s research, over 15 million posts in Hebrew, inciting violence against Palestinians, have gone unmoderated since October 2023, while Palestinian content has been systematically suppressed.

On January 23, 2025, Amnesty International, along with the Open Society Justice Initiative and Victim Advocates International, filed a whistleblower complaint with the SEC. The complaint highlights that Meta ignored repeated warnings between 2013 and 2017 about its platform’s role in inciting violence against the Rohingya and accuses the company of misleading investors about the risks tied to its content policies.