SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Submission Preview
Apple Refused to Remove Negative Ratings for the Facebook App Left by pro-Palestinian Activists Upse
████ # This file was generated bot-o-matically! Edit at your own risk. ████
this-is-war
Apple refused to remove negative ratings for the Facebook app left by pro-Palestinian activists upset over censorship [businessinsider.com.au]:
- Pro-Palestinian activists have accused social media sites, including Facebook, of censorship.
- In a coordinated effort, they’ve tanked ratings on the Facebook app.
- Apple denied Facebook’s request to remove the negative ratings, NBC News [nbcnews.com] reported.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page [businessinsider.com.au].
Apple refused a request from Facebook to remove negative reviews in the App store after pro-Palestinian protesters coordinated an effort to tank ratings because of censorship of Palestinian content, NBC News [nbcnews.com] reported.
On Saturday, the Facebook app had a 2.3 out of five-star rating in the App store compared to a more than four-star rating last week. The largest category of ratings is one-star reviews, with many comments saying their rating is due to Facebook censoring hashtags like #FreePalestine or #GazaUnderAttack.
“User trust is dropping considerably with the recent escalations between Israel and Palestine,” said one senior software engineer in a post on Facebook’s internal message board, NBC reported. “Our users are upset with our handling of the situation. Users are feeling that they are being censored, getting limited distribution, and ultimately silenced. As a result, our users have started protesting by leaving 1 star reviews.”
An internal message reviewed by NBC showed that the company was very concerned about the coordinated effort to tank ratings, categorizing the issue as an SEV1, which stands for “severity 1.”
Ratings on Facebooks App in the App store were down to a 2.3 out of 5 on Saturday night.
Facebook contacted the App store to have the negative reviews removed and Apple denied the request.
Pro-Palestinian activists have complained that many social media sites have restricted or deleted pro-Palestinian content and accounts.
Instagram restricted posts with hashtags referencing Al-Aqsa, the holy mosque in Jerusalem, telling some users who posted with the hashtag that their content was associated with “violence or dangerous organizations.”
The restrictions came as Israeli airstrikes fell on Gaza and Hamas fired thousands of rockets towards Israel [businessinsider.com.au]. The 11-day conflict would eventually kill 12 Israelis and more than 200 Palestinians and displaced thousands more in Gaza.
Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, said it mistakenly labeled the location as being associated with a terrorist organization.
Users of both platforms have also said that their posts about the conflict had been removed. The company blamed a glitch in moderation algorithms for the removals [reuters.com],
The Los Angeles Times [latimes.com] reported that some users resorted to using an ancient Arabic script that was void of dots and marks to trick online algorithms to not pick up and remove posts about Palestine.
Others intentionally misspelled words like “Palestine” or “Israel” or used COVID-19 themed stickers on their posts to make them more visible.
Facebook did not reply to Insider’s email request for comment at the time of publication.
Business Insider Emails & Alerts
Site highlights each day to your inbox.
Email AddressJoin
Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook [facebook.com], Twitter [twitter.com], LinkedIn [linkedin.com], and Instagram [instagram.com].
Tagged In briefing-us [businessinsider.com.au]censorship [businessinsider.com.au]facebook [businessinsider.com.au]gaza [businessinsider.com.au]israel [businessinsider.com.au]palestine [businessinsider.com.au]tech news [businessinsider.com.au]Business Insider Research I adopted a dog in 2020, and this handheld vacuum cleaner helped me keep fur off every surface in my house [businessinsider.com.au] Business Insider Emails & Alerts Site highlights each day to your inbox. Email AddressJoinBusiness Insider Australia Contact Editor [businessinsider.com.au]Got A Story Tip? [businessinsider.com.au]Report Issue [businessinsider.com.au]Business Insider Video A company in Uganda is turning the waste from bananas into rugs, place mats, and baskets [businessinsider.com.au]How metalworkers in India are keeping the 600-year-old craft of Bidri art alive [businessinsider.com.au]Popular on Facebook Doing these 24 uncomfortable things will pay off forever [businessinsider.com.au]Yes, Apple just killed iTunes — here's what that means for your library of music, movies, and TV shows [businessinsider.com.au]We took a 4-hour flight on the new Delta Airbus jet that Boeing tried to keep out of the US. Here's what it was like. [businessinsider.com.au]I moved to the US from China — here are the biggest cultural differences I've noticed between the 2 countries [businessinsider.com.au]Popular on LinkedIn Bath & Body Works is now a standalone company — we visited a store and saw why it's been L Brands' secret weapon [businessinsider.com.au]CBA and NAB pass on RBA interest rate cut in full, but ANZ and Westpac defy Treasurer Josh Frydenberg's orders [businessinsider.com.au]How to watch Netflix on your TV in 5 different ways [businessinsider.com.au]The incredible story of Ferrari's 72-year journey from an upstart racing team to a $27 billion luxury brand [businessinsider.com.au];
