by Richard Sanders, Staff Writer
In-Depth Solomons, a news platform and member organization of the non-profit OCCRP (Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project), was notified by the platform that more than 80 posts had been taken down from its official page.
OCCRP suspects that adversaries of independent journalism in the nation may be responsible for what they describe as a “coordinated campaign”.
The team at In-Depth Solomons discovered the issue on Thursday afternoon after being informed by the platform that around 86 posts, including articles and images, had been hidden. This action resulted in the apparent removal of all content posted by the news organization on Facebook since March of the previous year.
Additionally, the platform prohibited users from sharing links to the outlet’s website, indepthsolomons.com.sb, citing violations of its Community Standards.
According to OCCRP, In-Depth Solomons has faced backlash from the government of the Solomon Islands and its supporters, both online and in local media, for its reporting. Notably, in April, the outlet published an investigation into the unexplained wealth of the country’s former prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare.
Ofani Eremae, the editor of In-Depth Solomons, expressed concerns that the content removal could be part of a deliberate effort by critics to submit false complaints to Facebook en masse in order to suppress their journalism.
Eremae stated, “We strongly believe that we are being targeted due to the investigative reporting we are conducting here in the Solomon Islands. While we currently lack concrete evidence of the perpetrators, we suspect that individuals or groups opposed to independent journalism in this country may be involved.”
Ben Cheong, a spokesperson for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, informed OCCRP that they required additional time to investigate the matter.
