Almisshal was investigating how Meta is inclined to restrict pro-Palestinian or critical content of Israel in cooperation with Israeli intelligence services. His Facebook profile was deleted 24 hours after the show aired.
Al Jazeera said they have tried to contact Facebook looking for answers on what had happened but received none. On 9 September, Almisshal's profile was online and functioning properly again.
It is not the first time that the presenter’s account is targeted by Meta. Last March, his profile was restricted and in December 2020 many media workers, including him, were hacked by the Israeli spyware Pegasus.
Both the IFJ and the PJS have expressed extreme concerns regarding the influence that social media have in facilitating unhindered censorship cases.
Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate president (PJS), Naser Abu Baker said: '“We call on Facebook to put an end to its policy toward Palestine which supports the Occupation and is based on cooperation with the Israeli security agencies to restrict the work of Palestinian journalists who expose the hideousness of the Israeli occupation.”
IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger said: “Meta knows very well that journalists' social media accounts are integral parts of their professional work, it cannot shut down journalists’ accounts because they criticised its policies or expressed other critical views, this is a severe attack on freedom of expression. We welcome the fact that Tamer's account is back online, but neither he nor other journalists should face the same plight again.”