Algorithms as New Gatekeepers: Analyzing the Restriction and Suppression of News Content Regarding Gaza and Palestine on Social Media Platforms Before, During, and After the October 7, 2023, War

Abstract

This study aims to deconstruct the structural shift in the function of media gatekeeping from the classical human editor to digital algorithms, with an applied focus on content related to Gaza, Palestine, and the Hamas movement. The study employed a qualitative analytical approach using digital content analysis tools on a purposive sample of pro-resistance posts that were subjected to deletion, reach limitation, restriction, or shadow banning on Facebook, Instagram, and (X). The study provides visual documentation of restriction notifications, tracks engagement before and after restrictions, and analyzes the emergence of digital resistance practices, such as encoding sensitive words (e.g., Gaza, Ham.as, Palestine) as an escape from the bias of these platforms' algorithms. The study reached a set of results, most notably the dominance of algorithmic filtering mechanisms, a lack of transparency, and double standards due to the control of these intelligent algorithms over the engineering of global media discourse regarding the issue before, during, and after the war of October 7, 2023. This control operates according to security and geopolitical considerations that serve the orientations of the entities owning these platforms