Meta apologises over removal of Malaysia PM’s social media posts on Haniyeh’s assassination

Anwar Ibrahim had condemned assassination of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in his social media posts

Meta has apologised for removing some of Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim’s posts on its social media platforms that paid tribute to a Hamas leader who was killed last month.

Meta Platforms Inc said in a statement on Tuesday: “We apologise for an operational error where content from the prime minister’s Facebook and Instagram Pages were removed, and the content has since been restored with the correct newsworthy label.”

Mr Ibrahim had condemned the assassination of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in his posts. Malaysia does not recognise Israel as a sovereign state and the two countries have no diplomatic ties.

In May, Mr Ibrahim met with a Hamas delegation led by Haniyeh during a visit to Qatar, demonstrating support for the group designated a terrorist organisation by the US.

On Tuesday, the prime minister’s office (PMO) also expressed regret over the suspension of a Facebook Live broadcast from Malaysian national broadcaster RTM’s news account covering a rally in support of Palestinians on 4 August.

Meta said in a statement that a live-stream of the rally attended by the prime minister was briefly halted due to an intellectual property complaint related to music. Mr Ibrahim addressed a pro-Palestinian rally in Kuala Lumpur that drew thousands.

“The PMO views Meta’s actions as discriminatory, unjust and a blatant suppression of free expression. It is also seen as an affront to the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people in their pursuit of justice and human rights,” the PMO said in the statement.

The PMO criticised Meta’s content moderation as discriminatory and suppressive of free expression and demanded a detailed explanation and a public apology, which the company issued on Tuesday.

On Monday, Meta officials met the PMO. The government said that the suspension was “also seen as an affront to the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people in their pursuit of justice and human rights”.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said a short-range projectile was behind the killing of Haniyeh and accused the US of supporting the attack, which it blamed on Israel. Haniyeh was in Iran to attend the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian.

The assassination has sparked fears of pushing the region into a wider conflict and forcing Iran and Israel into a direct confrontation if Iran retaliates.