Meta unbans 'shaheed', the most moderated word on Facebook, Instagram
What's the story
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will lift its ban on the Arabic word "shaheed," translating to "martyr" in English.
This decision follows a year-long review by its independently operating oversight board.
The board found Meta's approach to be "overbroad," leading to more content removals associated with the term "shaheed" than any other single word or phrase across Meta's platforms.
Criticism addressed
Meta's previous policy criticized for adverse human rights impact
Meta has been under scrutiny for its handling of Middle Eastern content, with a 2021 study commissioned by the company revealing an "adverse human rights impact" on Palestinians and other Arabic-speaking users.
The review of Meta's policies heightened after hostilities between Israel and Hamas began in October.
The oversight board initiated its review last year, finding that the company's rules regarding "shaheed" failed to consider the word's various meanings.
New approach
Meta acknowledges oversight board's findings on 'shaheed' usage
The review, completed in March, revealed that Meta's policy led to the removal of content not aimed at praising violent actions.
On Tuesday, Meta acknowledged these findings and stated that their tests showed removing content where "shaheed" was "paired with otherwise violating content captures the most potentially harmful content without disproportionally impacting the voice."
The oversight board welcomed this change in policy, stating that Meta's previous stance had resulted in censoring millions of people across its platforms.