KUALA LUMPUR: The removal by Meta Platforms Inc (Meta) of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's posts on the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh has been deemed an act of double standards.
Dr Mazlan Ali, an Associate Professor at the Perdana Centre, Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, said Meta's assessment of the posts indicates that the social media service provider is biased towards the situation in Palestine and its leaders.
"The guidelines set by Meta are based on a Western interpretation that is pro-Israel... which is different from our country's view of the movement as fighting for their independence and homeland.
"This interpretation (by Meta) is one-sided and considered biased and unfair.
"Meta should treat various geopolitical viewpoints equally since their platform is used globally. They should not define things from their perspective only and should consider all viewpoints," he said in a recent interview.
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Mazlan added that Meta should also respect the statements issued by the Prime Minister as they represent the official views of a sovereign government and country.
Universiti Utara Malaysia School of Multimedia Technology and Communications dean Associate Prof Dr Mohd Khairie Ahmad believes Meta's guidelines are too general, potentially leading to artificial intelligence (AI) automatically removing the post.
He said Anwar's posts should not have been removed as they did not contain any elements of incitement or pose a danger to any party.
"I had a chance to view the posts, which only contained (images) and videos depicting a meeting between two leaders.
"In my opinion, they did not contain elements that could cause problems or disrupt global harmony.
"While the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, the faces of Israeli leaders in posts worldwide remain free from Meta's interference, clearly showing bias," he said.
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Khairie added that Meta's removal of a post without provocative or defamatory content could be seen as undermining the freedom of speech of a country.
"Meta needs to explain its action because the Prime Minister is not an ordinary individual but is recognised as a leader of the Islamic world.
"Meta must clarify whether the removal of the post is associated with extremist support because if true, it can be considered a very negative perception and an attempt to tarnish Malaysia's name," he said.
On Wednesday (July 31), the Prime Minister's Office condemned Meta's action of removing the pictures of Anwar's meeting with Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, from Instagram.
The Hamas leader was assassinated while visiting Iran on Wednesday.
On Thursday (July 1), Anwar condemned Meta's actions as disrespectful and insulting to the struggle of the Palestinian people for removing videos, messages of condolences, and criticisms regarding the assassination. – Bernama
