Meta Platforms, Inc., or META, has been advised by its independent oversight board to reconsider its blanket ban on the Arabic term “shaheed”, which translates to “martyr” in English. The board suggested that this wide-reaching ban is unnecessarily limiting and prevents many users from expressing themselves.Despite recognizing that extremists could potentially utilize the term to honor individuals who have died in violent circumstances, the board stressed that “shaheed” can hold distinctly non-glorifying meanings too. Backed by Meta, they recommended that posts containing “shaheed” should only be removed if they clearly encourage violence or breach Meta’s other policies.Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the co-chair of the Oversight Board, challenged Meta’s conviction that censorship inherently leads to a safer platform and argued that it can, in fact, push away diverse communities without improving safety. This criticism has gained momentum after the October clash between Israel and Hamas, which saw human rights organizations accuse Meta of suppressing pro-Palestinian content on Facebook and Instagram during the Gaza conflict.Fellow Oversight Board co-chair, Helle Thorning-Schmidt explained in recent declarations that, ” while terrorism devastates lives and threatens the foundations of our societies, it is misguided to prevent journalists from covering terrorist groups or to impede the public’s capacity to discuss and denounce the violence they witness due to the existence of a particular word.”The Oversight Board pointed out that stifling discussions over a single term can be counterproductive. Despite conducting a policy review on the use of “shaheed” in 2020, Meta was not able to conclude, leading to the involvement of the Board in 2023. Meta sought the Board’s advice due to internal disagreements on the matter.The Board highlighted that “shaheed” has resulted in more content removals on Meta platforms than any other word or phrase. Responding to this, a Meta spokesperson stated that the company plans to review the board’s recommendations and will respond in due course, within around 60 days.The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com
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