Apple refuses removal of Facebook App Pro-Palestinian 'review bomb'
A coordinated effort giving Facebook one-star reviews on the App Store, and elsewhere, is being treated as severe by the social media giant.
![Facebook's average rating on the App Store is reportedly going down](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/42180-81785-000-lead-Facebook-xl.jpg)
Facebook's average rating on the App Store is reportedly going down
Facebook's app on both Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store have reportedly been targeted by activists protesting against the company's alleged censorship of Palestinian posts. The campaign has been sparked by claims that existing censorship has increased during May's conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The campaigners, some of whose Twitter accounts have now ceased to exist, are asking people to give the app one-star reviews in an effort to reduce the overall rating.
According to NBC News, the Facebook app's average rating across the two stores was previously 4 out of 5. Over the weekend, it dropped to 2.3/5 on the App Store, and 2.4/5 on Google Play.
NBC News reports having seen internal Facebook documents including one from an employee who contacted Apple's developer relations team. Apple was asked to remove the negative reviews, but refused.
There is no information about whether Google was similarly contacted. Neither company has spoken publicly about the issue.
The internal documents do discuss the reasons behind the protest.
"User trust is dropping considerably with the recent escalations between Israel and Palestine," one senior software engineer is said to have written on Facebook's internal message board. "Our users are upset with our handling of the situation."
"Users are feeling that they are being censored, getting limited distribution, and ultimately silenced," he or she continued. "As a result, our users have started protesting by leaving 1 star reviews."
Facebook has issued a statement to NBC News, which denies the accusation of censorship.
"Our policies are designed to give everyone a voice while keeping them safe on our apps, and we apply these policies equally, regardless of who is posting or their personal beliefs," wrote Andy Stone, Facebook spokesperson. "We have a dedicated team, which includes Arabic and Hebrew speakers, closely monitoring the situation on the ground, who are focused on making sure we're removing harmful content, while addressing any enforcement errors as quickly as possible."
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![Facebook's average rating on the App Store is reportedly going down](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/42180-81785-000-lead-Facebook-xl.jpg)
Facebook's average rating on the App Store is reportedly going down
Facebook's app on both Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store have reportedly been targeted by activists protesting against the company's alleged censorship of Palestinian posts. The campaign has been sparked by claims that existing censorship has increased during May's conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The campaigners, some of whose Twitter accounts have now ceased to exist, are asking people to give the app one-star reviews in an effort to reduce the overall rating.
According to NBC News, the Facebook app's average rating across the two stores was previously 4 out of 5. Over the weekend, it dropped to 2.3/5 on the App Store, and 2.4/5 on Google Play.
Go to #Facebook app on Android & Apple stores & rate it 1 star for censoring #Palestinian constant + coverage to silence us. It works, its down to 2.7 stars now, soon down to 1 star hopefully. #Gaza #GazaUnderAttack #PalestinianLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/krJUd8fk0E
-- Omar Ghraieb (@Omar_Gaza)
NBC News reports having seen internal Facebook documents including one from an employee who contacted Apple's developer relations team. Apple was asked to remove the negative reviews, but refused.
There is no information about whether Google was similarly contacted. Neither company has spoken publicly about the issue.
The internal documents do discuss the reasons behind the protest.
"User trust is dropping considerably with the recent escalations between Israel and Palestine," one senior software engineer is said to have written on Facebook's internal message board. "Our users are upset with our handling of the situation."
"Users are feeling that they are being censored, getting limited distribution, and ultimately silenced," he or she continued. "As a result, our users have started protesting by leaving 1 star reviews."
Facebook has issued a statement to NBC News, which denies the accusation of censorship.
"Our policies are designed to give everyone a voice while keeping them safe on our apps, and we apply these policies equally, regardless of who is posting or their personal beliefs," wrote Andy Stone, Facebook spokesperson. "We have a dedicated team, which includes Arabic and Hebrew speakers, closely monitoring the situation on the ground, who are focused on making sure we're removing harmful content, while addressing any enforcement errors as quickly as possible."
Stay on top of all Apple news right from your HomePod. Say, "Hey, Siri, play AppleInsider," and you'll get latest AppleInsider Podcast. Or ask your HomePod mini for "AppleInsider Daily" instead and you'll hear a fast update direct from our news team. And, if you're interested in Apple-centric home automation, say "Hey, Siri, play HomeKit Insider," and you'll be listening to our newest specialized podcast in moments.
Comments
Soon, all he will have to work with is Facebook's in-house data collection. Their mass surveillance revenue model is still a problem for the rest of us.
FB's new ad:
Have Data
Will Monetize
Humanity? Who Cares?
Obviously they can’t remove the one star ratings. They’ve asked Apple to and- did you read the article??
Also, google doesn’t give a damn about dislikes on YouTube videos. Disliking a video has the same effect as liking it. All they care about is “engagement”. As for your claim that they’re removing dislikes from Biden videos... provide a legit citation of evidence, because you sound like a conspiracy theorist.
I am stating the facts (if facts are conspiracy, let it be
https://youtu.be/koPmuEyP3a0