Updated: After we at the IMEMC were able to contact Facebook Pages customer support, and chatted with them, they offered no information and no explanation.
They did not offer an explanation as to why the IMEMC Facebook page was “flagged, no explanation to why or what is “the violation,” or anything else.
When the support chat person failed to give us any information, we asked to talk to someone who can, but we were told that there is “no other department to talk to.”
We were told: “There is nothing else that you can do about the message you received, it’s just a warning. As long as you’re not violating our Community Standards then your Page will remain published. You already took all the steps necessary.”
And when we asked about the alleged violation, seeking to know what is it that “we did” according to Facebook that is considered a violation, the answer was exactly this:
“Sure thing, and I do not have any insight as to why your Page has been flagged. I’m very limited don my resources and that is information that I do not have available to me.”
So we asked if we can talk to someone “who has the needed resources, and give us this information,” the answer was:
“There is nothing else that you can do about the message you received, it’s just a warning. As long as you’re not violating our Community Standards then your Page will remain published. You already took all the steps necessary.”
Updated From:
August 11, 2020 4:13 AM: Dear IMEMC readers: The IMEMC has recently received messages from Facebook telling us our page is “at risk of being restricted or unpublished”.
There is no way to appeal this threat, or counter the false claim that our page and website are “low quality”. We have tried many ways to reach Facebook, but have come across an impenetrable Wall in which there is no customer service line, no email contact, no appeals process – in short, no way to reach any humans at Facebook to challenge their claims.
So we would like to publicly present this question to Facebook (and readers, if you have some special knowledge or way to reach Facebook, please pass this along):
- What exactly about our original, on-the-ground reporting about Israel-Palestine has ‘inauthentic content’ and is ‘low quality’? Please provide specific examples.
- What have we reported on our page that is false? Our reports come from on-the-ground witnesses and reporters.
- The definition provided of ‘inauthentic behavior’ and ‘low-quality content’ — that it is full of ads or spam — is clearly not the case, as we have no ads on our website.
Please, dear readers, support the IMEMC anyway you can, and ensure that freedom of speech, freedom of the press, are inalienable rights that should not be suppressed.
We at the IMEMC reject all forms of injustice, all forms of racism, sexism, discrimination, and strongly believe all people are born equal.
We also believe in the peoples’ right to struggle for liberation and independence, and that nobody is better than anybody else because of their gender, race, religion, or anything else.
Please help us continue our work, and support the IMEMC with a financial contribution so we can fight back against this blatant attempt to suppress free speech and independent journalism! We remain the only Palestinian-led news organization that is entirely supported by reader donations, with no foundations, corporate grants or political party funding that would diminish our independence.
