The board, which is funded by Meta however operates independently, mentioned the social media big ought to take away posts containing the phrase “shaheed” solely when they’re linked to clear indicators of violence or in the event that they individually break different Meta guidelines.
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The ruling comes after years of criticism of the corporate’s dealing with of content material involving the Center East, together with in a 2021 examine Meta itself commissioned that discovered its method had an “adversarial human rights impression” on Palestinians and different Arabic-speaking customers of its companies.
These criticisms have escalated because the onset of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in October. Rights teams have accused Meta of suppressing content material supportive of Palestinians on Fb and Instagram in opposition to the backdrop of a struggle that has killed tens of 1000’s of individuals in Gaza following Hamas’ lethal raids into Israel on Oct 7.
The Meta Oversight Board reached comparable conclusions in its report on Tuesday, discovering Meta’s guidelines on “shaheed” didn’t account for the phrase’s number of meanings and resulted within the removing of content material not aimed toward praising violent actions.
“Meta has been working underneath the idea that censorship can and can enhance security, however the proof means that censorship can marginalize entire populations whereas not enhancing security in any respect,” Oversight Board co-chair Helle Thorning-Schmidt mentioned in a press release.
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Meta at present removes any posts utilizing “shaheed” in referring to folks it designates on its listing of “harmful organizations and people,” which incorporates members of Islamist militant teams, drug cartels and white supremacist organizations. The corporate says the phrase constitutes reward for these entities, which it bans, in line with the board’s report.
Hamas is among the many teams the corporate designates as a “harmful group.”
Meta sought the board’s enter on the subject final yr, after beginning a reassessment of the coverage in 2020 however failing to achieve consensus internally, the board mentioned. It revealed in its request that “shaheed” accounted for extra content material removals on its platforms on than another single phrase or phrase.
A Meta spokesperson mentioned in a press release that the corporate would overview the board’s suggestions and reply inside 60 days.
