An Al Jazeera journalist reporting from Gaza said his Instagram account was suspended, just weeks after a damning report found that a Meta executive with ties to Israel was flagging pro-Palestinian content for removal.
On Wednesday, Anas Al-Sharif tweeted that Meta had suspended his Instagram account.
"After the account reached more than 1.2 million followers, and with a view rate exceeding one billion, Meta blocked my Instagram account and closed it completely," he posted, with a screenshot of Instagram's message.
بعد أن وصل الحساب لأكثر من مليون و200 ألف متابع، وبمعدل مشاهدات تجاوز المليار، قامت شركة ميتا بحجب حسابي على إنستغرام وإغلاقه بالكامل. pic.twitter.com/pcjLZ8AQL5
— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) November 6, 2024
"After my account reached more than 1.2 million followers, with over a billion views, Meta decided to suspend and completely close my Instagram account" @AnasAlSharif0 #aljazeera journalist
— Translating Palestine (@TranslatingPali) November 6, 2024
His new account on IG can be found at @anas.jamal33#Trump #Trump2024 #HarrisWalz pic.twitter.com/FMIWLB4d7X
His claim raised eyebrows as it comes just two weeks after The Intercept reported that Meta's Israel and the Jewish Diaspora Policy Chief Jordana Cutler, a former senior Israeli government official, flagged several posts from Students for Justice in Palestine, a group that organizes campus protests, citing the tech company's Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy.
A member of the group's Columbia chapter told The Intercept they recalled Meta had removed multiple posts quoting Ghassan Kanafani, a Palestinian novelist.
Hundreds or social media users denounced Meta's decision to disable Al-Sharif's account, with one X user writing, "The clamp down on Palestinian journalists in Gaza continues."
The clamp down on Palestinian journalists in Gaza continues. “Meta shuts down • Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al Sharif's Instagram page. This is after the number of account followers exceeded 1.2 million, with an average viewership rate exceeding one billion.” @pressfreedom https://t.co/7w5s8Elr8O
— Wahida Shaffi (@WahidaShaffi) November 6, 2024
Another wrote Meta was "complicit" in Israel's ongoing attack on Gaza.
@Meta closed the account of Anas Alsharif. A journalist who has been covering the Israeli crimes on Gaza@Meta is complicit https://t.co/VINO7Y2jGU
— Faisal (@Faisal496882161) November 6, 2024
In August, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued an alert stating it was "deeply concerned about the safety of Al Jazeera Arabic northern Gaza correspondent Anas Al Sharif after an Israel Defense Forces' spokesperson accused him of 'presenting a lie' in his coverage of Israel's August 10 airstrike that killed dozens of Gazans in a school building housing Palestinians displaced by the war."
The notice also came months after Israel targeted Al-Sharif's family home in Jabalia, killing his 90-year-old father, per the CPJ.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 137 journalists and media personnel in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and Lebanon, the CPJ reported.
Meta did not respond to a request for a comment at the time of publication.
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