Meta assures no removal of Palestinian Rally livestream

KUALA LUMPUR: Meta Platforms Inc (Meta) has assured the government that the livestream of the Palestinian Liberation Rally, to be held at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil today, will not be taken down, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

According to Bernama, he said the assurance was given by senior Meta officials to ensure the smooth transmission of the livestream without any interruptions, not only on the country’s leaders’ social media platforms but also by the media.

“I have emphasized and warned the Meta team that we will have this Palestinian Liberation Rally event tomorrow night, and there will be a livestream. I have requested their cooperation,” he said.

“I want to see them ‘walk the talk’ by ensuring that the livestream is not only on the Prime Minister’s Facebook but also that media partners are not disrupted throughout the event,” he added.

Fahmi made these comments to reporters after launching the #KasiJadi J&T Express campaign and the sixth anniversary of the international courier company.

He hopes that with this assurance, issues regarding the removal of similar livestreams last year will not recur.

“I have spoken with Meta and stressed that we do not want to see this issue happening as before,” he said.

Additionally, Fahmi, who is also the government spokesperson, stated that Meta will also provide an explanation regarding the removal of a post by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim about the killing of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh on social media platforms in a meeting on Monday.

He hopes the meeting will go smoothly and that no disruptions to livestreams, including on Facebook, TikTok, and other social media platforms, will occur in the future, particularly concerning Palestine.

“This is because Meta has informed us that heads of state, government leaders, ministers, or officials are given special consideration when discussing Palestinian issues,” he said.

In a previous media report, Fahmi expressed the government’s disappointment with Meta’s action in removing the Prime Minister’s post about Ismail’s killing and requested clarification on the matter.

Regarding the rally, which will start at 6 PM tomorrow and will be attended by Anwar, Fahmi said about 20,000 people are expected to attend the stadium.