Meta (Facebook, Instagram) is in internal discussions about toning down the term “Zionist” on its platforms as the conflict in Gaza fuels hate speech, including anti-Semitism, online, AFP reported.

“Given the increasing polarization of public discourse due to events in the Middle East, we believe it is important to evaluate our guidelines for reviewing posts that use the term ‘Zionist,'” a Meta spokesperson said Friday in response to questions after Washington’s article. Post on the topic.

He clarified that the social media giant “does not allow users to attack other people based on elements of their identity such as nationality or religion”, pointing to the difficulties associated with the term “Zionist”.

It “often refers to a person’s ideology, which is not a protected characteristic,” but “can also be used to refer to Jews or Israelis.”

Therefore, the California group is trying to refine its approach to this classifier and find compromises.

Currently, the rules governing his platforms allow the term “Zionist” to be used to criticize the ideology, but prohibit messages containing the word that refer to Jews or Israelis and attack them in a derogatory or violent manner.