{"id":3925,"date":"2026-09-21T02:14:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T02:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atfarsi.com\/?p=3925"},"modified":"2026-09-21T02:14:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T02:14:44","slug":"%d8%a7%da%a9%d9%88%d8%b3%d8%a7%db%8c%d8%af%d8%9b-%da%86%d9%87-%da%a9%d8%b3%db%8c-%d8%aa%d8%b9%db%8c%db%8c%d9%86-%d9%85%db%8c%da%a9%d9%86%d8%af-%da%a9%d8%af%d8%a7%d9%85-%d8%b1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atfarsi.com\/en\/%d8%a7%da%a9%d9%88%d8%b3%d8%a7%db%8c%d8%af%d8%9b-%da%86%d9%87-%da%a9%d8%b3%db%8c-%d8%aa%d8%b9%db%8c%db%8c%d9%86-%d9%85%db%8c%da%a9%d9%86%d8%af-%da%a9%d8%af%d8%a7%d9%85-%d8%b1\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Echoicide\u2019: Who Decides Which Narratives From Gaza Survive?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Source: Al Jazeera | Mohammad Qasem | September 20, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The Gaza War and the Battle for Visibility<\/h3>\n\n

When the bombardment of Gaza began in October 2023, Palestinian journalists turned to social media to show the world directly what was happening to people in the enclave. At the same time, restrictions on foreign journalists entering Gaza made local reporters and citizen journalists increasingly important in documenting the war. Al Jazeera reports that, alongside the dangers faced on the ground, efforts to share images, testimonies and evidence from the conflict with global audiences have also encountered significant digital barriers.<\/p>\n\n

\u2018Echoicide\u2019: When Content Remains Online but Loses Its Audience<\/h3>\n\n

In the Al Jazeera report, the author uses the term \u201cEchoicide\u201d<\/strong> to describe a situation in which a message is not necessarily removed from the internet, but the channels through which it travels are weakened to such an extent that the voice behind it loses its reach and resonance. According to Al Jazeera, this can occur through content removal, account suspension, reduced algorithmic recommendations or limits on the discoverability of posts. As a result, content may remain online while reaching a significantly smaller audience.<\/p>\n\n

Human Rights Watch Findings on Palestinian Content<\/h3>\n\n

According to the report, Human Rights Watch documented cases in which Instagram removed images and videos showing Palestinian civilians killed or injured in Israeli attacks. The platform said the content violated Meta\u2019s policies on \u201cviolence and incitement\u201d. Al Jazeera presents these cases as part of a broader debate over how Palestine-related content is moderated, distributed and made accessible across social media platforms.<\/p>\n\n

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin\u2019s Account of Restricted Reach<\/h3>\n\n

Palestinian journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, who has more than 1.1 million followers on Instagram, told Al Jazeera that he has used his account to share firsthand information and accounts from people in Gaza. According to Shihab-Eldin, some videos and images have either \u201cdisappeared\u201d after being posted or experienced a sharp decline in reach without a clear explanation. He also said that some material published on his account has been used in South Africa\u2019s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.\n\nShihab-Eldin alleges that as tens of thousands of users began visiting his profile, his account was made inaccessible several times and later subjected to severe restrictions on its visibility. These are his claims about Meta\u2019s practices, and Al Jazeera also presents the company\u2019s response later in the report.<\/p>\n\n

War in the Age of Smartphones and Livestreaming<\/h3>\n\n

Smartphones, livestreams, satellite imagery and social media have enabled millions of people around the world to witness wars in near real time. However, Al Jazeera\u2019s report raises a broader question: if access to information has become more widespread, why do some wars and forms of human suffering receive extensive public visibility while others remain far less visible? This question lies at the heart of the report\u2019s examination of the relationship between technology, power and visibility.<\/p>\n\n

Algorithmic Censorship: When Content Exists but Becomes Harder to Find<\/h3>\n\n

Jillian York, a writer and activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Al Jazeera that digital censorship can be more difficult to detect than traditional forms of suppression. Under this form of restriction, content does not necessarily disappear. Instead, algorithms can reduce its reach, discoverability and likelihood of being recommended to users. As a result, a testimony or piece of evidence may remain on a platform while its chances of reaching a wider audience gradually diminish.<\/p>\n\n

Self-Censorship and the Limits of Digital Impact<\/h3>\n\n

Leila Warah, a journalist based in the occupied West Bank, said her Instagram account has been suspended and reactivated several times during the war. However, she argues that the issue extends beyond algorithms and \u201cshadow banning\u201d. Users may watch footage from Gaza, be affected by what they see, and then close the app and return to their daily lives, while Palestinians experiencing those events do not have that option. For Warah, the more fundamental question is what meaningful impact follows after content is viewed and shared.<\/p>\n\n

Meta\u2019s Handling of Arabic and Hebrew Content<\/h3>\n\n

In 2021, Meta\u2019s Oversight Board recommended an independent review of whether the company had applied its content-moderation policies fairly to Arabic and Hebrew content. In response, Meta commissioned Business for Social Responsibility to examine the issue, including the role of automated systems. The review found no evidence that Meta employees had intentionally sought to benefit or harm a particular community, but it acknowledged unintended consequences for Palestinian and Arab users, including concerns over their freedom of expression.<\/p>\n\n

How Technical Decisions Can Shape the Visibility of a Narrative<\/h3>\n\n

The report argues that restricting a narrative does not necessarily require a direct decision by an individual to censor it. An engineer can alter how a feed ranks posts, a policy team can rewrite moderation guidelines, and a product team can determine what content a platform recommends to users. None of these decisions may appear to constitute direct censorship in isolation, but collectively they can influence which stories reach broad audiences and which struggle to gain visibility.<\/p>\n\n

Meta Responds to Allegations of Systemic Censorship<\/h3>\n\n

In response to Al Jazeera\u2019s questions, Meta referred to a statement it issued in 2023 rejecting Human Rights Watch\u2019s allegation of \u201csystemic censorship\u201d. A Meta spokesperson acknowledged that mistakes had been made and said changes had been introduced to address them, but rejected claims that the company deliberately and systematically suppresses particular voices. Meta also said its content-moderation decisions are based on violations of platform policies rather than users\u2019 political views.<\/p>\n\n

However, according to Al Jazeera, Meta did not directly answer questions about whether the accounts or content of Leila Warah and Ahmed Shihab-Eldin had been downranked or otherwise subjected to restrictions that reduced their reach.<\/p>\n\n

Can Suppression Be Structural?<\/h3>\n\n

Marwa Fatafta, Middle East and North Africa policy and advocacy director at digital rights organisation Access Now, told Al Jazeera that the suppression of Palestinian voices cannot simply be attributed to a series of isolated content-moderation errors. In her assessment, the problem appears more \u201csystematic, structural and widespread\u201d. She argues that proving systemic harm does not require evidence that a particular Meta executive deliberately ordered the removal of Palestinian content, because the design, timing and enforcement of policies can themselves produce structural consequences.<\/p>\n\n

Digital Power and the Narratives That Become Visible<\/h3>\n\n

Drawing on the work of Edward Said, Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, the report places the issue within a broader discussion about power, representation and credibility. The author argues that social media platforms now exercise aspects of this power on an enormous scale, as their systems can influence what becomes visible, which narratives are regarded as credible and what ultimately remains part of the public record and collective memory.<\/p>\n\n

The \u2018Tyranny of Precarity\u2019 and the Politics of Victimhood<\/h3>\n\n

Alongside \u201cEchoicide\u201d, the author introduces another concept: the \u201cTyranny of Precarity\u201d. Under this analytical framework, powerful actors can more effectively command the political language of vulnerability, fear and insecurity, while the chronic insecurity experienced by less powerful communities may gradually become normalised and fail to attract the same level of political concern.<\/p>\n\n

Saree Makdisi, co-author of the forthcoming book Anti-Palestinianism, told Al Jazeera that the problem is not simply that Palestinian suffering goes unseen, but that it is repeatedly subordinated through a complex combination of narratives, distortions, blind spots and forms of denial. The report argues that while \u201cEchoicide\u201d concerns whose testimony retains its echo, the \u201cTyranny of Precarity\u201d concerns whose vulnerability continues to carry political meaning.<\/p>\n\n

Gaza and the Right to Tell One\u2019s Own Story<\/h3>\n\n

According to Al Jazeera, the war in Gaza has brought greater attention to questions surrounding how Palestinian content circulates online. Restrictions on access to Gaza have also made Palestinian journalists and civilians increasingly central to providing firsthand accounts of events on the ground. At the same time, journalists, researchers and human rights organisations have raised concerns about how Palestinian content is distributed and made visible across social media platforms.<\/p>\n\n

Alana Hadid, a Los Angeles-based activist and creative director, told Al Jazeera that she has observed a significant decline in views when posting about Palestine. According to Hadid, her Instagram Insights show that her general and fashion-related content receives substantially more views than her Palestine-related posts. She said the struggle is not simply about being heard, but about Palestinians retaining the right to tell their own story.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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