Is Netanyahu Deleting Critical Facebook Comments?
Image by getty images
By Naomi Zeveloff May 1, 2017
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Facebook page appears to have been scrubbed of critical comments over the last several months, even those written in polite language.
A Haaretz review of Netanyahu’s Facebook profile, which counts more than 2 million followers, found that dozens of comments from both left and right wing critics of the Prime Minister disappeared without the writer having deleted them.
Among the deleted comments was a post from an Israeli who opposed Netanyahu’s rejection of the state comptroller’s critical report of 2014’s Operation Protective Edge, and a post from someone critical of Netanyahu’s stance on the Israel Broadcasting Authority.
To document the phenomenon, Haaretz worked with the Open Media and Information Lab at Israel’s Open University, which did an electronic scan of the page. Haaretz also conducted a manual review.
Netanyahu has been more active on Facebook in recent years, posting videos to speak directly to the Israeli public and his base. According to Haaretz, the page is run by Netanyahu’s Likud party.
Hebrew University sociologist Yael Berda said that scrubbing Facebook comments will affect public discourse by preventing criticism from reaching those in power.
Contact Naomi Zeveloff at zeveloff@forward.com or on Twitter @naomizeveloff
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
