Meta’s policy to allow the use of phrases is approved by a recommendation. Several members of the independent oversight panel dissented. They argued that after the October 7th attacks, it was “presumed” that the phrase used “was glorification for Hamas unless there were clear signals to suggest otherwise.”

NBC News reported that the Oversight Board for Meta (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Instagram) has determined that the phrase “From the River to the Sea” is not automatically hate speech when it’s used in the context the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Meta’s policy to allow use of phrase is backed by a recommendation.

The decision was based on three separate Facebook cases where users used the phrase as part of their content. The posts were reported in each case for violating Facebook’s hate speech policy. Complainants claimed that the phrase called for the destruction Israel. Facebook decided not to remove these posts. This decision was upheld by Oversight Board.

The board’s 32-page decision stated that “the Board finds that there is no evidence that the comment, or the two posts, violated Meta’s hate speech rules as they do not call for violence or exclude Jews or Israelis nor do they attack an institution or concept associated with a protected feature that could lead to imminent violent acts.” “Instead, these three pieces of content are contextual signals of support for Palestinians.”

One of the cases concerned a post which received approximately 8 million views. It depicted the phrase created using floating watermelon pieces, a symbol that is often associated with pro Palestinian activism. According to the Oversight Board, this post received 951 complaints from 937 users.

The phrase “From River to Sea” has caused controversy, especially in light of the Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7, and the Israeli military campaign that followed in Gaza. Hamas leaders and pro-Palestinian activist have used the phrase in order to call for a Palestinian State that encompasses the entire region from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Others argue that the phrase represents general solidarity, or a return to the pre-1967 boundaries.

In its ruling, the Oversight Board acknowledged that there are multiple interpretations of the phrase. The board stated that “because the phrase has multiple meanings, a blanket prohibition on content containing the phrase, a rule of default towards removing such content, or using it as a trigger to trigger enforcement or a review would hamper protected political speech in an unacceptable way.”

The decision was not unanimous. Minority of 21 board members disagreed, arguing, following the October 7, 2001 attacks, that the phrase “should be assumed to be glorification” of Hamas, “unless there are clearly signals to the contrary.”

Meta responded to the ruling by saying, “We appreciate the board’s review on our guidance in this matter.” We know that while all our policies are designed with safety in the forefront, they also come with global challenges. That is why we seek out expert input from outside Meta and other organizations, such as the Oversight Board.

The decision is made amid ongoing controversy surrounding Meta’s policies for content moderation in relation to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Human Rights Watch accused Meta of censoring pro Palestinian voices while others claimed Meta had suppressed pro Israel content.

The Oversight Board was created in 2019 by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg as an independent body that reviews content moderation decisions made on Facebook and Instagram. Its decisions are usually binding on Meta platforms.

The Combat Antisemitism Movement has criticized Meta’s Oversight Board’s view that “From the River To the Sea” shouldn’t lead to the removal of content because it “does not break Meta’s Rules on Hate Speech and Incitement, or Dangerous Organizations and Individuals.”

Sacha Roytman-Dratwa, CEO of CAM, said that “‘From The River To The Sea’ was a slogan designed with the single vision of destroying Israel’s national homeland.” It is a genocidal slogan, with a genocidal intent, and it is not based on logical political or ideological principles, as it is targeting the Jewish State and its residents for destruction.