STRUCTURED INVISIBILITY: PLATFORM GOVERNANCE, ALGORITHMIC DEHUMANIZATION, AND THE NORMALIZATION OF PALESTINIAN SUFFERING IN DIGITAL MEDIA

Abstract

The digital portrayal of Palestinian experiences since October 2023 presents a significant contradiction, unparalleled global recognition of occurrences in Gaza alongside the systematic, recorded silencing of Palestinian voices on the leading social media platforms worldwide. This article presents Structured Invisibility as a conceptual framework to explain this paradox. Using platform governance research (Gillespie, 2018, Noble, 2018), framing theory (Entman, 1993, 2004), Butler's (2009) idea of grievability and psychological studies on compassion fatigue and moral disengagement (Bandura, 2002, Figley, 1995), the article proposes that three interconnected mechanisms function together to create a structural hierarchy that dictates which sufferings or whose sufferings gain visibility and emotional acknowledgment from the society in digital public spaces, (1) platform level suppression and shadow banning that limit Palestinian content at its creation, (2) algorithmic dehumanization that establishes an unbalanced emotional hierarchy, making Palestinian fatalities appear less recognizable as morally pressing losses and (3) normalization through ongoing algorithmically mediated exposure that gradually diminishes empathetic involvement. The article asserts that these mechanisms do not function separately or haphazardly but instead mutually strengthen each other, creating circumstances where Palestinian suffering is both widespread as statistical information and systematically concealed as a pressing moral issue. The discussion covers the ramifications for reforming platform governance, research in international communication and advocating for human rights.