KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms ( META )

apologised on Tuesday for erroneously removing Malaysian Prime

Minister Anwar Ibrahim's social media posts in which he

expressed condolences to a Hamas official about the

assassination of the group's leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Meta was sorry for "an operational error", adding that the

content had been restored with "the correct newsworthy label," a

Meta spokesperson told Reuters.

The U.S. social media giant designates Hamas, the

Palestinian Islamist movement that governs Gaza, as a "dangerous

organisation" and bans content praising the group. It uses a mix

of automated detection and human review to remove or label

graphic visuals.

Anwar posted on Facebook and Instagram on July 31 a video

recording of his phone call with a Hamas official to offer

condolences over Haniyeh's death. He also posted a picture from

his last meeting with Haniyeh in Qatar in May, along with a

condolence message.

It was the second run-in Meta has had with the Malaysian

government, which called the takedown of the posts unjust,

discriminatory and a suppression of free speech. Malaysia's

communications minister and members of the Prime Minister's

Office met Meta representatives on Monday to seek an

explanation.

In a similar incident in May, Meta restored Facebook posts

by Anwar over his meeting with Haniyeh, saying they were taken

down in error.

Muslim-majority Malaysia, a staunch supporter of the

Palestinian cause, has warned that firm action could be taken

against Meta and other social media companies if they blocked

pro-Palestinian content on their platforms.