Meta will review moderation of Arabic word for ‘martyr’ – 09/03/2023 – Tech

Meta Platforms’ supervisory board said on Thursday it will review the moderation of the Arabic word “shaheed”, which means “martyr”, as the term is responsible for more content removals on its platforms than any other another word or phrase.

The company turned to the board on whether to continue removing posts that use the word “shaheed” to refer to individuals designated as dangerous or whether to use a different approach, the board said.

“This is a complex moderation issue that affects how millions of people express themselves online and whether Muslim and Arabic-speaking communities are subject to excessive scrutiny of their content because of Meta’s scrutiny practices,” said Thomas Hughes, managing director of the supervisory board.

Moderating the word could result in over-application, particularly in Arabic-speaking countries, and could have an impact on reporting in those regions, the board noted and asked for public comment to aid its deliberations.

The council also said on Thursday that it would investigate a case related to a post that called for the “seizure” of the National Congress after the election of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.