Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, has said that it will completely remove the ban on the word ‘Shaheed’. In a year-long review, we found that the word ‘Shaheed’ does not just mean martyr. It has a wide range of meanings. For years, Meta was being criticized for why it had banned the word ‘Shaheed’. Meta’s own oversight board was repeatedly demanding the removal of this ban.
Actually, shaheed is an Arabic word. In English it is called martyr. Till now Meta used to understand ‘shaheed’ only in the context of violence or extremism. For this reason, this word was marked and removed from Facebook and Instagram. At the same time, the company’s oversight board argued that the word shaheed has many meanings. It is often used in academic discussions and human rights cases. But the company was not ready to accept this. Due to this, Meta was being criticized for years regarding this Arabic word. As a result, it had a bad effect on Palestinian users and other Arabic speaking users. When the Israel Hamas war started in October, Meta started getting criticized more. Because then many users wanted to use this word on Facebook and Instagram.
Meta’s rule on “martyr” is absurd
After this, the company’s Oversight Board reviewed it again. It was found that the word martyr has many meanings and is widely used. The March review found that Meta’s rule on “martyr” is absurd. Due to this, many times such content is removed, which is not intended to promote violence. Transparency should be brought in the content moderation system. Bowing to the decision of the Oversight Board, Meta announced on Tuesday that they are completely lifting the ban on the word martyr. Now this word can be used a lot on its platform.
Accounts of millions of users suspended
Due to this word, the accounts of millions of users were suspended. In 2023, the Palestinian users on Instagram whose profiles had this word were blocked. Because Meta felt that it sounded like a terrorist word. However, later Meta had to apologize for this. A spokesperson for Meta said that they give priority to the safety of users, try to use fair policy.
Tag: Facebook India, instagram post
first published : July 3, 2024, 05:33 IST
