'Extremely Concerning': Pro-Palestinian students at Columbia and NYU face censorship as semester begins

As the fall semester begins across US campuses and Israel’s war on Gaza continues, universities have been proactive in their attempt to slow the momentum built by pro-Palestine student movements in the last academic year, doubling down on censoring criticism of Israel.

Simultaneously, Meta has increased pressure on accounts that feature pro-Palestine and anti-Israel content. In the past week, New York University and Columbia University students in New York City have faced pushback on both these fronts. 

Both Columbia and NYU were home to heated standoffs between the administrations and pro-Palestinian protestors throughout the entirety of the 2023-2024 school year, culminating with their respective Gaza solidarity encampments and their eventual sweeps by the New York Police Department. 

And online, both of the main pro-Palestine student organisations, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine and NYU Palestine Solidarity Committee, have repeatedly been shadow-banned, flagged for review or temporarily suspended from Instagram since late 2023.

This week, on 25 August, Columbia SJP was permanently banned from Instagram with no reason provided and no opportunity to appeal. And only a couple of days later, NYU PSC’s account was suspended from Instagram as well.  

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