Meta is restricting the use of the upside-down red triangle emoji, a reference to Hamas combat operations that has become a broader symbol of Palestinian resistance, on its Facebook and Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms, according to internal content moderation materials reviewed by The Intercept.
Since the beginning of the Israeli assault on Gaza, Hamas has regularly released footage of its successful strikes on Israeli military positions with red triangles superimposed above targeted soldiers and armor. Since last fall, use of the red triangle emoji has expanded online, becoming a widely used icon for people expressing pro-Palestinian or anti-Israeli sentiment. Social media users have included the shape in their posts, usernames, and profiles as a badge of solidarity and protest.
The symbol has become common enough that the Israeli military has used it as shorthand in its own propaganda: In November, Al Jazeera reported on an Israeli military video that warned “Our triangle is stronger than yours, Abu Obeida,” addressing Hamas’s spokesperson.
“user is clearly posting about the conflict and it is reasonable to read the red triangle as a proxy for Hamas and it is being used to glorify, support or represent Hamas’s violence.”
It sounds less bad than the title, not an outright ban on the emoji just a ban on using it as a proxy for otherwise banned ideas. Still not a fan of Meta’s longstanding belief they’re the arbitors of morality and what may be discussioned.
Sorry, not sure if you intended to reply to my post or if it was intended for another comment. If you were intending to reply to me, I doubt they’ll ban the Israeli flag, although they also haven’t banned the Palestinian flag either. They started removing one emoji when used as a representation of something that violated their rules and wanted to clarify the slightly misleading headline on The Intercept’s part.
Again, though, as I said above I’m still not a fan of the rule. Meta has made a lot decisions (moderation and otherwise) that I’m not a fan of.
