• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

2

When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all

3

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer

1

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

2

When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all

3

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
PoliticsPalestine

Meta employee calls out ‘toxic’ rules that ban staff from discussing controversial topics like Israel–Palestine after an alleged investigation where she was ‘kicked out of internal systems’

Orianna Rosa Royle
By
Orianna Rosa Royle
Orianna Rosa Royle
Associate Editor, Success
Down Arrow Button Icon
Orianna Rosa Royle
By
Orianna Rosa Royle
Orianna Rosa Royle
Associate Editor, Success
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 28, 2024, 12:08 PM ET
A Meta employee has warned that the social network's “toxic” CEE policy could lead to “external censorship” on its platforms.
A Meta employee has warned that the social network's “toxic” CEE policy could lead to “external censorship” on its platforms. Onur Dogman/SOPA Images/LightRocket—Getty Images

A Meta employee has expressed fears that an internal ban on controversial political topics is the beginning of censorship across its platforms like Instagram and Facebook, claiming she was removed from the company’s systems for two months after penning concerns about the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Recommended Video

Saima Akhter, a New York-based data scientist at Meta, claims that she was placed “under investigation” and kicked out of internal systems for “speaking up for Palestine.”

She now alleges the investigation has concluded and she has returned to Meta.

Staffers at Meta are banned from discussing politics, health and weapons under its “community engagement expectations (CEE).”

“External censorship on Meta platforms starts with internal censorship of Meta employees,” Akhter writes in her post on Instagram.

“I am continuing to push for more explanation on why and what they were investigating.

“And I am continuing to ask how employees at Meta can express their concerns to leadership and actually be heard.”

The employee signed off the post by tagging her employer: “@meta, please stop internally censoring employees and get rid of the toxic CEE.”

Fortune has contacted Meta and Akhter for comment.

Pro-Palestine voices “ignored”

Meta introduced CEE at the end of 2022 “to ensure that internal discussions remain respectful,” Lori Goler, the company’s head of people at the time wrote in an internal memo viewed by Fortune.

“This comes with the trade-off that we’ll no longer allow for every type of expression at work, but we think this is the right thing to do for the long-term health of our internal community,” the memo added.

From then on, topics that had previously caused “disruption” including vaccine efficacy, abortion and gun rights were all banned overnight from being discussed in the workplace. 

Despite this, Akhter began openly advocating for Palestine amid its escalating conflict with Israel in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. 

Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, weighed in on the war which has now claimed over 31,000 lives, calling the terrorist attacks “pure evil.”

“My primary concern is the safety of our employees and their families in Israel and the surrounding region,” Zuckerberg shared on Instagram stories.

A group of Meta employees—including Akhter—then penned and circulated a letter asking Meta to “acknowledge Palestinian lives lost” and “transparent action for internal and external censorship on our platforms.”

“Internally we have been trying to raise these concerns and alarms but there is a rule that you cannot talk about disruptive topics, so anything we post about in regards to Palestine gets taken down,” the Meta employee said in an Instagram video earlier this year before allegedly being placed “under investigation.”

Now, in her latest Instagram post, she has blasted Meta’s leadership team for failing to acknowledge the hundreds of pro-Palestenian voices in the company.

“The letter received nearly 500 signatures, and nearly 100 personal testimonials from employees,” she says. “Leadership deleted the letter (including deleting copies of the letter from employees drives and emails), ignored it, and never addressed it again.”

Censorship on Meta

It’s not the first time that Meta has been accused of silencing pro-Palestinian posts on its platforms since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war.

In a scathing 51-page report, Human Rights Watch blasted the social network behemoth for engaging in a “systemic and global” censorship of content in support of Palestine and Palestinians, including the taking down of posts, disabling accounts and restricting users’ ability to interact with others’ posts.

Meta outlined in a blog post on its company website that it did indeed take down “more than 795,000 pieces of content” from its platform in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack because they violated the company’s “Dangerous Organizations and Individuals” policy—this included posts which showed “identifiable victims at the moment of the attack” and ones praising Hamas.

Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King said that his Instagram account was deactivated last December after he accused Israel of genocide.

“The account was disabled due to multiple instances of praise for designated entities in violation of our policies,” a Meta spokesperson explained to CNBC at the time.

Subscribe to Fortune Gulf Brief. Every Tuesday, this new newsletter delivers clear-eyed, authoritative intelligence on the deals, decisions, policies, and power shifts shaping one of the world’s most consequential regions, written for the people who need to act on it. Sign up here.
About the Author
Orianna Rosa Royle
By Orianna Rosa RoyleAssociate Editor, Success
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Orianna Rosa Royle is the Success associate editor at Fortune, overseeing careers, leadership, and company culture coverage. She was previously the senior reporter at Management Today, Britain's longest-running publication for CEOs. 

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Politics

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Politics

dan
PoliticsElections
Dan Sullivan could be kicked out of Alaska Senate primary — but not that Dan Sullivan
By Becky Bohrer and The Associated PressJune 12, 2026
1 hour ago
Elon Musk
InvestingMarkets
When SpaceX starts trading, some ‘shareholders’ will discover they own nothing at all
By Jim EdwardsJune 12, 2026
7 hours ago
fda
HealthTobacco
Why is the FDA approving kid-friendly, fruit-flavored e-cigarettes?
By Matthew Perrone and The Associated PressJune 12, 2026
11 hours ago
lula
EnvironmentTariffs
Trump turned environmentalist to slap new tariffs on Brazil, so why are deforestation rates down?
By Gabriela Sa Pessoa and The Associated PressJune 12, 2026
11 hours ago
defense
PoliticsDefense
Trump says Europe freeloads on defense. Britain’s own (former) Defense Secretary just agreed
By Jill Lawless, Danica Kirka and The Associated PressJune 11, 2026
16 hours ago
carney
North AmericaSocial Media
Canada joins global movement to ban social media for kids: ‘We are failing our children. Enough is enough’
By Rob Gillies and The Associated PressJune 11, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
Environment
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
By Catherina GioinoJune 9, 2026
3 days ago
When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all
Investing
When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all
By Jim EdwardsJune 12, 2026
7 hours ago
Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
Energy
Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
By Sasha RogelbergJune 10, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 11, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 11, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 11, 2026
1 day ago
American taxpayers have spent $33 billion on sports stadiums. They got fewer seats—and higher prices
Success
American taxpayers have spent $33 billion on sports stadiums. They got fewer seats—and higher prices
By Catherina GioinoJune 11, 2026
23 hours ago
Meet the SpaceX employees who are set to become multimillionaires thanks to its IPO: from execs to even welders
Success
Meet the SpaceX employees who are set to become multimillionaires thanks to its IPO: from execs to even welders
By Preston ForeJune 11, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.