Facebook app store ratings drop amid Israeli attacks on Gaza

Facebook ratings have significantly dropped on Google Play and App stores amid days of Israeli air strikes targeting innocent Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Netizens have accused Facebook of supporting Israel and its occupation of Palestinian territories and have called for a boycott of the social media giant over what they call its biased policy on the Palestine issue.

Many of them complained that Facebook deleted their content relating to the Palestinian cause, while some said it suspended their accounts for sharing such content.

The Facebook app for smartphones now has a rating of 2.5 on the Google Play store. On Apple’s App store, the social media giant has a rating of 2.4.

It has dropped from 4.5 over the past few days. People rate smartphone applications on these stores based on their performance and services.

The social media giant recently came under fire for providing fake “likes” to a page named Jerusalem Prayer Team, which aimed to censor the Palestinian narrative.

The social media platform apparently gave likes to the page from the profiles of people who had not even been aware of its existence.

The decline in Facebook ratings comes amid continuing Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

At least 213 Palestinians, including 61 children, have been killed in the attacks.

On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he expects a “significant” reduction in the military confrontation with Palestinians, the White House said.

The statement marked a sharpening of public tone from the White House toward the close US ally.

However, there was no mention of how Biden defined “significant” in his call to tune down the bombing of Gaza.

So far, Biden has avoided joining an international chorus demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, saying only that he supports a truce.

But he has been at pains to express backing for Netanyahu’s argument that Israel’s powerful military is acting in self-defense.