**Meta Apologizes: “Operational Error” Behind Removal of Malaysian PM’s Posts on Haniyeh**
Meta Platforms apologized on Tuesday for removing content from the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim related to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, last week.
A Meta spokesperson told Reuters via email that the company expressed regret for the “operational error,” adding that the content has been restored with the “correct label reflecting its newsworthiness.”
Last Thursday, Ibrahim accused Meta of “cowardice” after his post about Haniyeh was deleted. The post included a video of a phone call with a Hamas leader offering condolences for Haniyeh’s death.
On July 31, Ibrahim posted on Facebook and Instagram a video showing him offering condolences for Haniyeh’s death during a call with a Hamas official. He also shared a photo of his last meeting with Haniyeh in Qatar in May, accompanied by a message of sympathy.
**The Second Confrontation**
This incident marks the second confrontation between Meta and the Malaysian government, which has described the removal of the posts as unjust, discriminatory, and a suppression of free speech. On Monday, Malaysia’s Minister of Communications and members of the Prime Minister’s Office met with Meta representatives to seek an explanation.
In a similar incident in May, Meta restored Ibrahim’s posts on Facebook regarding his meeting with Haniyeh, stating that they had been removed by mistake.
Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country that strongly supports the Palestinian cause, has warned that it may take strict measures against Meta and other social media companies if they ban pro-Palestinian content on their platforms.
The American social media giant classifies Hamas as a “designated terrorist organization” and bans content that praises the group. Meta employs a combination of automated monitoring and human review to remove or label harmful content.
By/radwa sherif ✏️✏️📚