{"id":59866,"date":"2026-06-24T09:59:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T17:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=59866"},"modified":"2026-06-24T09:59:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T17:59:07","slug":"how-facebook-has-censored-my-account-over-criticism-of-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2026\/06\/24\/how-facebook-has-censored-my-account-over-criticism-of-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"How Facebook Has Censored My Account Over Criticism of Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Reprinted from <a href=\"https:\/\/tritaparsi.substack.com\/p\/john-mearsheimer-and-i-discuss-us\">Trita Parsi\u2019s Substack<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Over the past few weeks, META\u2019s censorship of my account has reduced my Reel Views by 68%, regular views by 27%, followers by 52%, and engagement by 21%.<\/p>\n<figure><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!ja8r!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43aacfb0-b336-43f9-b523-09235964f2ae_1008x1434.png 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!ja8r!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43aacfb0-b336-43f9-b523-09235964f2ae_1008x1434.png 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!ja8r!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43aacfb0-b336-43f9-b523-09235964f2ae_1008x1434.png 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!ja8r!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43aacfb0-b336-43f9-b523-09235964f2ae_1008x1434.png 1456w\" type=\"image\/webp\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"sizing-normal\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!ja8r!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43aacfb0-b336-43f9-b523-09235964f2ae_1008x1434.png\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!ja8r!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43aacfb0-b336-43f9-b523-09235964f2ae_1008x1434.png 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!ja8r!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43aacfb0-b336-43f9-b523-09235964f2ae_1008x1434.png 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!ja8r!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43aacfb0-b336-43f9-b523-09235964f2ae_1008x1434.png 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!ja8r!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43aacfb0-b336-43f9-b523-09235964f2ae_1008x1434.png 1456w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1008\" height=\"1434\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/43aacfb0-b336-43f9-b523-09235964f2ae_1008x1434.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1434,&quot;width&quot;:1008,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:139926,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image\/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/tritaparsi.substack.com\/i\/203412818?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43aacfb0-b336-43f9-b523-09235964f2ae_1008x1434.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}\" \/><\/picture>I am by no means the greatest victim of META censorship, but I am in a position to document how and why they are censoring\/limiting my reach on META platforms, all because of my objections to Israeli policies. <strong>This is a key reason as to why I am transitioning my work and output to Substack.<\/strong>This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.<\/p>\n<p>This is what happened.<\/p>\n<p>A few weeks ago, I was notified by META that my account would be limited going forward. My account will still be visible &#8211; at least for now &#8211; but \u201cpeople will have to scroll longer,\u201d and it won\u2019t be \u201csuggested\u201d to people who aren\u2019t my friends.<\/p>\n<p>According to META, this censorship is because they claim my profile\u2019s \u201ccontent is unoriginal\u201d and that it \u201chas some issues.\u201d (?!)<\/p>\n<div class=\"captioned-image-container\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"image2-inset\">\n<picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!n1yb!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ae6dc80-3fae-40bf-8841-42146d8ff1d6_1008x1418.png 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!n1yb!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ae6dc80-3fae-40bf-8841-42146d8ff1d6_1008x1418.png 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!n1yb!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ae6dc80-3fae-40bf-8841-42146d8ff1d6_1008x1418.png 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!n1yb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ae6dc80-3fae-40bf-8841-42146d8ff1d6_1008x1418.png 1456w\" type=\"image\/webp\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"sizing-normal\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!n1yb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ae6dc80-3fae-40bf-8841-42146d8ff1d6_1008x1418.png\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!n1yb!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ae6dc80-3fae-40bf-8841-42146d8ff1d6_1008x1418.png 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!n1yb!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ae6dc80-3fae-40bf-8841-42146d8ff1d6_1008x1418.png 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!n1yb!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ae6dc80-3fae-40bf-8841-42146d8ff1d6_1008x1418.png 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!n1yb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ae6dc80-3fae-40bf-8841-42146d8ff1d6_1008x1418.png 1456w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1008\" height=\"1418\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/7ae6dc80-3fae-40bf-8841-42146d8ff1d6_1008x1418.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1418,&quot;width&quot;:1008,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:139783,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image\/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/tritaparsi.substack.com\/i\/203412818?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ae6dc80-3fae-40bf-8841-42146d8ff1d6_1008x1418.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}\" \/><\/picture>\n<div class=\"image-link-expand\">\n<div class=\"pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Anyone who follows me on META knows that my content is either me posting my own interviews with various outlets (by definition, that is original), my own opeds and commentary (also original), or pictures of my Samoyeds (admittedly, credit here goes to my dogs).<\/p>\n<p>META\u2019s \u201crules\u201d define \u201cunoriginal\u201d as content that already exists on Facebook if you had no meaningful role in creating it,\u201d \u201ccompiling and posting videos from multiple pages,\u201d or \u201cposting videos that you didn\u2019t film or produce.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Again, my postings really don\u2019t violate these rules. My analysis is original, and most of the videos I post are my own interviews.<\/p>\n<p>But I think we are getting closer to the real problem. I think META\u2019s problem is not the posting of my own interviews (which constitute the majority of my posts), but rather the videos I post from Gaza. The problem, of course, is not that these videos are not my original content &#8211; META couldn\u2019t care less about that.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s because it is videos documenting Israeli war crimes. Videos that have prompted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2026\/04\/07\/negative-views-of-israel-netanyahu-continue-to-rise-among-americans-especially-young-people\/\">Israel\u2019s standing among Americans to plummet<\/a>. Videos that are causing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/06\/23\/nx-s1-5868676\/mamdani-nyc-primaries-progressive-dsa\">pro-Israeli lawmakers to lose their primary elections<\/a>. Videos that have been censored from mainstream media and now TikTok, but that have still circulated on social media, partly thanks to accounts like mine.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, when I dug deeper, the only justification META provided for their censorship was that they had removed two videos of graphic violence I had posted on July 16 and July 30, <em><strong>2025<\/strong><\/em>. That is, a year ago. At the height of the Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n<div class=\"captioned-image-container\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"image2-inset\">\n<picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!fdDH!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faac12782-bb50-42e8-a302-fc700589b289_1008x682.png 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!fdDH!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faac12782-bb50-42e8-a302-fc700589b289_1008x682.png 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!fdDH!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faac12782-bb50-42e8-a302-fc700589b289_1008x682.png 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!fdDH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faac12782-bb50-42e8-a302-fc700589b289_1008x682.png 1456w\" type=\"image\/webp\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"sizing-normal\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!fdDH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faac12782-bb50-42e8-a302-fc700589b289_1008x682.png\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!fdDH!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faac12782-bb50-42e8-a302-fc700589b289_1008x682.png 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!fdDH!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faac12782-bb50-42e8-a302-fc700589b289_1008x682.png 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!fdDH!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faac12782-bb50-42e8-a302-fc700589b289_1008x682.png 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!fdDH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faac12782-bb50-42e8-a302-fc700589b289_1008x682.png 1456w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1008\" height=\"682\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/aac12782-bb50-42e8-a302-fc700589b289_1008x682.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:682,&quot;width&quot;:1008,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:63303,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image\/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/tritaparsi.substack.com\/i\/203412818?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faac12782-bb50-42e8-a302-fc700589b289_1008x682.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}\" \/><\/picture>\n<div class=\"image-link-expand\">\n<div class=\"pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Given the absurdity of META\u2019s claim that my content is unoriginal, it appears the real reason is that I &#8211; <em>last year<\/em> &#8211; posted graphic videos documenting Israeli war crimes.<\/p>\n<p>META is not a platform I want to be part of anymore or contribute to. Over the course of the next few months, I will be transitioning away from Facebook and moving my activities to Substack. I have not decided whether I will completely close my Facebook account or just keep it dormant in case regime change is achieved at the leadership level of META and their censorship in favor of Israeli crimes is ended.<\/p>\n<p>But for now, I am out, and I welcome you to do the same.<\/p>\n<p><em>Trita Parsi is the Executive VP of the <a href=\"https:\/\/responsiblestatecraft.org\/\">Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft<\/a> and an award-winning author. Washingtonian Magazine has named him one of the 25 most influential voices on foreign policy. Noam Chomsky calls him \u201cone of the most distinguished scholars on Iran\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/tritaparsi.substack.com\/\">Visit Trita Paris\u2019s Substack<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/tritaparsi.substack.com\/subscribe\">subscribe<\/a>.<\/figure>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reprinted from Trita Parsi\u2019s Substack: Over the past few weeks, META\u2019s censorship of my account has reduced my Reel Views by 68%, regular views by 27%, followers by 52%, and engagement by 21%. I am by no means the greatest victim of META censorship, but I am in a position to document how and why [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_social_image_id":59867,"_social_image_url":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1290],"class_list":["post-59866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"disable_donate_message":"0","custom_donate_message":"","_social_image_id":"59867","subtitle":"META is not a platform I want to be part of anymore or contribute to. 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