While activists and civilians flood the streets across the world protesting for Palestine, social media is actively reflecting the changing tides. Currently, the hashtag #FreePalestine has over 2 billion views on TikTok, while in contrast the hashtag #standwithIsrael has over 162.8 million views.

In a statement posted on Monday, the social media platform responded to US Representative (R) Mike Gallagher’s allegations that TikTok was “controlled by America’s s foremost adversary, one that does not share our interests or our values: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)”, calling for America to ban the app.

TikTok said the overwhelming support teens have for Palestine is dominating the app’s algorithm.

“Support for Israel (as compared to sympathy for Palestine) has been lower among younger Americans for some time. This is evidenced by looking at Gallup polling data of millennials dating as far back as 2010, long before TikTok even existed. A March 2023 Gallup poll, before the war, shows young adults have rapidly shifting attitudes towards the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. While an Echelon poll from October 26, 2023 shows that US TikTok users under 40 are more likely to support Israel (33% vs 28% for Palestine), and the proportions broadly reflect the split in the general under 40 population (32% for Israel, 23% for Palestine).”

Other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram show more audiences engage with the pro-Palestinian content than with Israel’s. Instagram shows that the hashtag #FreePalestine has over 6 million views, while in comparison #IstandwithIsrael has gained only 233,000 views.

Instagram was being taken to task by users for censoring and shadow banning prominent pro-Palestinian voices who were reporting on the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Freelance journalist Plestia Alaqad reported her Instagram account was hacked.

🚨🚨🚨Gazan journalist Plestia's IG account has been hacked. Do NOT send any money or engage with that account until we get an update!

Pls boost & share 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/Yp73KFNo6R

— سماح (@samah_fadil) November 9, 2023

Furthermore, journalist Ahmed reported he was locked out of his Instagram account and was warned it would be shut down for violating the company’s guideline.

🚨 Urgent

I got a message saying I may lose my @Instagram account.

For now the update is that I’m back on.

Backstory:

They say it’s a bug they can’t figure out.

They claim a video of me showing Israeli soldiers abusing Palestinian detainees goes against their guidelines.… pic.twitter.com/nZHvxMBX0q

— AHMED | أحمد (@ASE) November 15, 2023

On Facebook, the #FreePalestine hashtag has over 11 million views while in comparison the #IstandwithIsrael hashtag has over 323,000 views.