Pallone, New Jersey Jewish Community Demand Social Media Platforms Take Action Against Violent Content and Disinformation Following Hamas’s Attack on Israel

Edison, NJ – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today joined local elected officials and members of the Jewish community to demand social media platforms take immediate action to combat the graphic, violent content and disinformation spreading across social media in the wake of Hamas’s terrorist attacks on Israel. Pallone announced that he plans to request more information from social media companies about what they are doing to ensure that content which violates their standards is immediately removed.

The call for action comes as deeply disturbing content and deliberate disinformation about the war and its victims are rapidly spreading across social media platforms. Pallone is the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over technology policy and social media companies.

“I am calling on all social media companies – including X, Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and Telegram – to vigorously enforce their terms of service, immediately remove content that violates those terms, and permanently ban any user that intentionally attempts to spread or broadcast acts of terror, violence, or extremism,” Pallone said. “Social media companies must not allow their platforms to become agents of terrorist propaganda and violence and aren’t used to spread, amplify, or broadcast graphic acts of violence and terrorism. This situation underscores the need for social media platforms to maintain a robust and fully supported content moderation staff as well as clear, enforceable policies that prohibit the use of their platforms to advance terrorism.

“The abhorrent content we’ve seen following Hamas’s terrorist attacks on Israel is an affront to the victims and their families and serves only to further the terrorists’ violent agenda. Reports that Hamas has hacked some of their victims’ accounts and used them to spread terrorist content are particularly heinous, and platforms must act swiftly and decisively to stamp out these abuses. I stand here today with members of the Jewish community in New Jersey in solidarity with Israel as we grieve the loss of innocent lives and pledge our unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself against these heinous attacks,” Pallone concluded.

Since Hamas’s attacks on Israel, both fraudulent and genuine footage of violent attacks have been posted on social media platforms. Platforms have also become vehicles of hate speech, conspiracy theories, misinformation, and doctored content.

Violent Content

Violent content has circulated widely on social media platforms since Hamas attacked Israel. Hamas has vowed to broadcast their executions of Israeli hostages on the internet. A spokesperson for Hamas has said on the group’s Telegram account that its fighters would “kill hostages, one by one” every time an Israeli strike hits a home in Gaza and that the executions would be broadcast online. Jewish and Israeli parents have been urged to delete their children’s social media accounts ahead of possible hostage videos.

CNN and other outlets have reported that an Israeli grandmother’s murder by Hamas militants was photographed by her executioners and posted to her Facebook account. Her grandson told CNN that the video appeared in his News Feed and likely the News Feed of her friends and family because it was uploaded from her own account.

Disinformation and Deepfakes

Disinformation and deepfakes also spread blatantly false information, fueling incitement, and eroding the public’s ability to obtain accurate information about new developments in the war.

A few examples include:

• Two videos show Russia President Vladimir Putin warning the United States to “stay away from the latest Gaza war,” but both videos were months-old clips of Putin speaking about the Russia-Ukraine.
• A viral post on Twitter purporting to show Israeli military engagements in Gaza was debunked as clips from a violent video game.
• A doctored memo circulated on social media stated that President Joe Biden was sending $8 billion in military assistance to Israel. The memo being circulated was altered from an original order on July 25 that authorized $400 million to Ukraine.