A Maltese cartoonist who has faced a backlash of hate comments after posting a cartoon about Joseph Muscat, had her account temporarily blocked by Facebook after what appears to have been a collective effort by trolls.

Miriam Galea said on Wednesday that Facebook restricted her account for 24 hours shortly after she posted cartoons about Joseph Muscat and his wife Michelle Muscat.

Facebook restricted Galea's account for 24 hours.

The cartoons sparked outrage among Labour supporters, triggering trolls to report her posts en masse, and leading the social media giant to automatically block her account.

"Ironically, Facebook also deleted some posts where I had uploaded screenshots of the hate comments," Galea told Times of Malta.

She said she had not only received hate comments, but her private account was shared on Facebook groups, exposing where she works and lives. People were asked to report her, she said, showing this was a targeted hate campaign identifying anyone who criticised the government.

The Maltese cartoonist lives and works as a translator in Brussels and regularly posts satirical cartoons to Facebook.

The controversial cartoon, posted last week, showed an octopus bearing Joseph Muscat's head embracing a mermaid bearing Michelle Muscat's head, and carrying the title: Is-Sirena u l-Qarnita (The Mermaid and the Octopus: A grim fairytale).

The title referred to the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry report published last July, which said the culture of impunity in the Muscat administration was like an octopus that originated in Castille and spread tentacles throughout government entities.

A cartoon depicting Joseph and Michelle Muscat landed Miriam Galea in hot water. Photos: Miriam Galea.

Critics called Galea a 'whore' and a 'witch bitch' among other things.

Galea filed a formal complaint with the police cybercrime unit on Tuesday.