The Intercept recently obtained internal documents revealing a former senior Israeli government official is currently overseeing Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta’s Israel policies.
NEW: I've reviewed internal Meta records that show the company's dedicated liaison to the Israeli government has repeatedly tried to censor Instagram posts belonging to pro-Palestinian student protest groups and other content related to the war https://t.co/jHq4xXBVEd
— Sam Biddle (@samfbiddle) October 21, 2024
Jordana Cutler, Meta’s Israel & the Jewish Diaspora policy chief, “personally pushed for the censorship of Instagram accounts belonging to Students for Justice in Palestine,” according to the outlet.
Meta’s internal policy discussions show Cutler flagged the group’s posts several times in what “screams bias,” says a policy adviser who consults Meta.
When The Intercept reached out to Meta for a response, the company called the article “dangerous and irresponsible,” and claimed it doesn’t matter who flags content because, “Whenever any piece of content is flagged, a separate team of experts then reviews whether it violates our policies.”
Cutler previously worked at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. as well as serving as an advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The outlet’s founder Glenn Greenwald wrote on X, “A long-time senior Israeli government official and Netanyahu/Liduk adviser, Jordana Cutler, is now the chief of Facebook’s US censorship unit on Israel and Palestine. She repeatedly and aggressively uses that position to demand censorship of Israel critics:”
A long-time senior Israeli government official and Netanyahu/Liduk adviser, Jordana Cutler, is now the chief of Facebook's US censorship unit on Israel and Palestine.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 21, 2024
She repeatedly and aggressively uses that position to demand censorship of Israel critics: https://t.co/5gKdEl2htv
He added, “The very first time I ever reported on Big Tech censorship was back in 2016, when we discovered that the Israeli government has an official channel it uses to submit accounts and people it wants Facebook to ban, and FB complies in 95% of cases:”
The very first time I ever reported on Big Tech censorship was back in 2016, when we discovered that the Israeli government has an official channel it uses to submit accounts and people it wants Facebook to ban, and FB complies in 95% of cases:https://t.co/vE0XpFlk78
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 21, 2024
The former Israeli official’s role with Meta is being scrutinized online.