Meta accepts oversight board’s recommendations to end ban on word ‘shaheed’

CALIFORNIA: Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has said that it would lift the ban on “shaheed”, an Arabic word translated to “martyr”, after a year-long review by its oversight board, Reuters reported.

The ban previously removed all content in which “shaheed” was considered to refer to entities named in the Dangerous Organisations and Individuals policy, with no exceptions for reporting on, neutrally discussing, or condemning the term.

The Oversight Board recommended Meta major changes in the company’s policy following its extensive review which assessed that the blanket ban might be censoring those speaking about violence in conflict-hit places such as Gaza and Sudan.

The review found that Meta’s rules on “shaheed” failed to account for the word’s variety of meanings and resulted in removing content not aimed at praising violent actions.

“Shaheed has multiple meanings, many of which are not intended to glorify or convey approval of violence,” according to a statement from the Oversight Board which recommended the policy change.

The statement said that the ban led to millions of posts being taken down, often disproportionately targeting Arabic-speaking and Muslim communities.

Meta acknowledged the findings of the review on Tuesday and said its tests showed that removing content when “shaheed” was “paired with otherwise violating content ​​captures the most potentially harmful content without disproportionally impacting the voice”.