X strips Francesca Albanese of 'blue check' after pressure from pro-Israel lobby group

Elon Musk's X has stripped Francesca Albanese of the 'blue check' on her personal profile on Tuesday following a complaint by a pro-Israel pressure group.

UN Watch had written to the X CEO demanding that he remove her verified status, arguing that it would violate impending US sanctions on the UN special rapporteur.

The move will limit Albanese's visibility and reach on the social media platform and comes as part of a broader campaign by pro-Israel organisations to delegitimise one of the most prominent critics of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.

UN Watch is demanding that all American organisations cut ties with Albanese in response to the sanctions, which, from 8 August, would block her from transacting with American entities and individuals.

Albanese - a specialist in international human rights law and the UN's special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories - will also be subject to a travel ban and have her US assets frozen.

Announcing the measures in July, the US State Department accused her of "campaigns of political and economic warfare", citing her support for the International Criminal Court's (ICC) indictment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister.

Albanese responded in a social media post, writing that the decision "is not a sign of strength, but of guilt".

The Trump administration announced the measures after the UN expert published a report accusing major American companies of complicity in Israel's genocidal attack on Gaza and illegal occupation of the West Bank.

Tech giants such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet, construction firm Caterpillar, and defence contractor Lockheed Martin were among the 60 companies named in the report, which called for legal action to be taken against them for violations of international law.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the allegations "extreme and unfounded".

The sanctions are part of a wider US-Israeli effort to prevent international institutions from supporting Palestinian rights and holding Israeli leaders to account.

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on the ICC for its decision to indict Israeli leaders on war crimes charges.

It has cooperated with Israel in its attempts to destroy the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and has withdrawn from UNESCO in part because of its decision to admit Palestine as a member state.

Albanese declined to comment to The New Arab.