Meta to Lift Ban on the Word ‘Shaheed’ Following Oversight Board Recommendations

Meta Platforms (META.O) announced on Tuesday that it will lift its blanket ban on the word “shaheed,” meaning “martyr” in English. This decision follows a year-long review by its oversight board, which found the company’s approach to be overly broad.

Meta has faced longstanding criticism for its handling of content related to the Middle East. A 2021 study, commissioned by Meta itself, highlighted the “adverse human rights impact” on Palestinians and other Arabic-speaking users due to the company’s content policies. These criticisms intensified with the hostilities between Israel and Hamas that began in October.

The independent oversight board, funded by Meta, initiated the review last year because “shaheed” was responsible for more content removals on the company’s platforms than any other single word or phrase. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, was found to have rules that did not adequately consider the various meanings of “shaheed,” leading to the removal of content that was not intended to praise violent actions.

On Tuesday, Meta acknowledged the oversight board’s findings, noting that tests showed removing content only when “shaheed” was “paired with otherwise violating content” effectively captured the most potentially harmful content without disproportionately silencing users.

The oversight board welcomed the policy change, noting that the previous rules had resulted in the censoring of millions of people across Meta’s platforms.