Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, has apologized for removing posts by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim regarding the killing of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniye last week.
The apology came one day after the Prime Minister's office summoned Meta representatives to demand an explanation as to why the leader's Facebook and Instagram posts concerning Haniye's death had been removed.
In a statement sent by Meta, it was stated, "We apologize for an operational error that caused content on the Prime Minister's Facebook and Instagram pages to be removed. The content has been restored with the correct newsworthiness tag."
WHAT HAPPENED
Hamas political leader Haniye was killed on Wednesday in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in an assassination for which Israel is held responsible. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's posts included a video of the Prime Minister speaking on the phone with a Hamas official to offer his condolences.
A note shared by Meta on Instagram stated that the posts were removed because they were associated with "dangerous individuals and organizations."
The Prime Minister's office had described Meta's removal of the posts as a "blatant suppression of free speech" and had demanded an apology from the tech giant.
The Malaysian leader had accused the tech giant of "cowardice" last week for removing his posts.
PRESIDENCY OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS' POST REMOVED
Furthermore, in recent days, a post by the Presidency of Religious Affairs regarding the funeral prayer held for Haniye in Istanbul was also removed by Facebook, and a 1-month publishing ban was imposed on the account in question.
News Source: 12punto
