Numerous Hizbullah supporters from Iran and Lebanon express their support for the group on their Instagram accounts. Many eulogize fighters and praise martyrdom, while others celebrate the group's military prowess, while some issue threats to the U.S. and to Israel. As at January 2, 2018, MEMRI has found that most of the pro-Hizbullah accounts appear to belong to Farsi speakers and Arabic speakers.
Because Hizbullah is a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (since 1997), much of the Hizbullah-related content on Instagram violates the social platform's Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.
Instagram's Terms of Use (TOU)[1] and its Community Guidelines mention only in passing the issues of the promotion or propagation of extremism or violence in the photos posted on its platform. These guidelines focusing more on banning the promotion of, for example, anorexia or other eating disorders, or sexual content involving minors.
The TOU state that the violation of these terms can result in the termination of an account: "...If you violate the letter or spirit of these Terms of Use, or otherwise create risk or possible legal exposure for Instagram, we can stop providing all or part of the Service to you."[2]
The Community Guidelines state: "Follow the law: Instagram is not a place to support or praise terrorism, organized crime, or hate groups. Offering sexual services, buying or selling firearms and illegal or prescription drugs (even if it's legal in your region) is also not allowed. Remember to always follow the law when offering to sell or buy other regulated goods. Accounts promoting online gambling, online real money games of skill or online lotteries must get our prior written permission before using any of our products. We have zero tolerance when it comes to sharing sexual content involving minors or threatening to post intimate images of others."[3]
The full text of this report is available to MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor subscribers.
Subscription information is available at this link.
JTTM subscribers can visit this page to view the report.
[1] Help.instagram.com/478745558852511, accessed December 28, 2017.
[2] Help.instagram.com/478745558852511?helpref=page_content, accessed October 12, 2017.
[3] Help.instagram.com/477434105621119, accessed October 12, 2017.
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