Meta Platforms apologises and reinstates Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's posts on Israel-Hamas conflict
The Media and Strategic Communications Division of the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office (PMO), in a meeting, demanded Meta provide a detailed explanation along with a public apology.
MALAYSIA: Meta Platforms Inc. has issued an apology and reinstated three postings that were previously removed from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The posts in question condemned Israel's recent assassination of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh on 30 July.
The posts were initially removed and replaced with the caption "Dangerous individuals and organisations."
Anwar had also experienced a similar removal of another post on 14 May, which led the government to summon Meta for an explanation.
The Media and Strategic Communications Division of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) expressed its disapproval, describing Meta's actions as discriminatory and a violation of freedom of opinion.
"The Prime Minister's Office views Meta's actions as a form of discrimination, unfair and restricts freedom of opinion. It also constitutes an affront to the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people for justice and human rights," the PMO stated. The statement further criticised Meta's lack of transparency in handling the removal of the messages.
"The unilateral decision to censor content without considering the context raises concerns about Meta's transparency in its content moderation policies," the statement added.
Additionally, the PMO expressed disapproval after Meta blocked RTM News' live broadcast of Sunday's 'Himpunan Pembebasan Palestin' rally.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Tan Sri Mohamad Salim Fateh Din, who were part of the meeting, demanded Meta provide a detailed explanation along with a public apology.
Meta has since agreed, with a representative issuing an apology today. "We apologise for an operational error where content from the Prime Minister’s Facebook and Instagram Pages were removed, and the content has since been restored with the correct newsworthy label," a Meta spokesperson emailed to Reuters.
This apology however does not appear to be published on Meta's social media platforms.
