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Malaysia's Communications Minister, Fahmi Fadzil, criticized Meta Platforms on Tuesday, demanding an explanation for the removal of Facebook posts by local media covering Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's recent meeting with a Hamas leader.
According to Reuters, Anwar Ibrahim met Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in Qatar on Monday, emphasizing his diplomatic relations with the group's political leaders while asserting no involvement in its military activities.
As a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, Malaysia has sent a letter to Meta, asking for clarification regarding the removal of posts by two media organizations covering Anwar's meeting.
Additionally, a third outlet covering Palestinian issues had its Facebook account closed.
Expressing his dismay, Fahmi Fadzil condemned Meta's actions, particularly highlighting the removal of posts related to the prime minister's official visit to Qatar. He underscored his disappointment with an organization based in the United States for not respecting the freedom of media outlets to use their platform.
Meta has yet to respond to Malaysia's request for comment.
In October, Fahmi had warned of potential action against Meta and other social media companies if they were found to be blocking pro-Palestinian content.
Meta had previously stated that it was not intentionally suppressing voices on its Facebook platform and denied allegations of restricting content supporting the Palestinians.
Meta categorizes Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement governing Gaza, as a "dangerous organization" and prohibits content praising the group. The platform employs a combination of automated detection and human review to remove or label graphic visuals.
