By Mason Mohon| @mohonofficial

A Palestinian media company condemned Facebook on Tuesday for restricting the free speech of Palestinian journalists.

They said that the action was “clear submission to the policies and dictates of the Israeli occupation which is pursuing Palestinian activists on the basis of their political views and intellectual positions and issuing prison sentences against them.”

Since the incident, Facebook has banned the Safa Palestinian Press Agency without warning.

A spokesperson from the company said “This page was correctly removed for violating our community standards… There is no room for hate speech or incitement of violence on our platform.”

They had no evidence to back their claim.

Because of this incident, questions must be raised. Does Facebook have an obligation to protect fair and open journalism? Is it right for Facebook to have a position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and is it ok for them to try and turn a political tide?

Just as they may attempt to sway the opinions of people when it comes to the conflict, they have censored Missouri Senatorial candidate Austin Petersen allegedly for political purposes.

Facebook seems to like to play politics, but whether or not a media giant as big as they are should have the ability to do so is a problem that both society and the government will need to grapple with.

Featured image source.