Ex-Meta engineer sues over alleged bias in handling Gaza content
Hamad, a Palestinian-American who was part of Meta's machine learning team, claims he was wrongfully terminated in February for attempting to fix bugs that suppressed Palestinian Instagram posts
A former Meta engineer, Ferras Hamad, filed a lawsuit against the social media giant on Tuesday, alleging bias in the company's handling of content related to the war in Gaza, according to a report from Reuters.
Hamad, a Palestinian-American who was part of Meta's machine learning team since 2021, claims he was wrongfully terminated in February for attempting to fix bugs that suppressed Palestinian Instagram posts.
Hamad's lawsuit, filed in a California state court, accuses Meta of discrimination, wrongful termination, and other misconduct. The complaint highlights a pattern of bias against Palestinians, including the deletion of internal communications mentioning the deaths of employees' relatives in Gaza and investigations into the use of the Palestinian flag emoji by employees.
According to Hamad, no such investigations were launched for employees posting Israeli or Ukrainian flag emojis in similar contexts.
Hamad’s claims echo long-standing criticisms from human rights groups about Meta's moderation of content related to Israel and the Palestinian territories. An external investigation commissioned by Meta in 2021 also raised concerns about the company's performance in this area.
Since the war's escalation, Meta has faced accusations of suppressing pro-Palestinian expressions on its platforms. Nearly 200 Meta employees voiced similar concerns in an open letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other leaders earlier this year.
Hamad's firing reportedly stemmed from a December incident involving an emergency procedure at Meta, known as a SEV or "site event," to troubleshoot severe platform issues.
He identified irregularities in handling a SEV related to content restrictions on Palestinian Instagram personalities. One incident involved a video by Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza, which was misclassified as pornographic despite depicting a destroyed building in Gaza.
Hamad claimed he received conflicting guidance about the SEV's status and his authorization to resolve it, despite his manager later confirming it was part of his job function. Following this, Hamad filed an internal discrimination complaint but was terminated shortly after.
Meta reportedly told Hamad he was fired for violating a policy against working on issues involving accounts of people he knew personally.
Hamad denies having any personal connection to Azaiza.