Meta's Oversight Board has ruled that the social media company made a mistake in removing two videos depicting hostages and injured individuals in the Israel-Hamas conflict, stating that the videos were essential for understanding human suffering during the conflict. Since Hamas' attack in Israel on October 7, social media platforms have faced increased scrutiny over their content moderation practices due to a surge in misinformation and allegations of promoting certain viewpoints. The videos in question, which were initially taken down by Meta's automated moderation tools, were the subject of an expedited review by the Oversight Board - the first of its kind for videos concerning the conflict.

Upon review, the Board determined that the posts should have remained live and criticized Meta for removing the content without human review, leading to a high cost to freedom of expression and access to information. The Board disagreed with Meta's decision to restrict the videos from being recommended to users, emphasizing the importance of swiftly allowing content related to the conflict for condemning, awareness-raising, news reporting, or calls for release, with a warning screen applied.

The case underscores the risks of overmoderation on social media platforms and highlights the delicate balance they must strike in handling content related to conflicts and crises. The Oversight Board's decision serves as a point of reference for the broader scrutiny that social media companies are facing in their content moderation practices during times of conflict.