Meta Platforms Inc.'s META Oversight Board, on Monday, overturned the social media giant’s decision to remove a post from Facebook that used the slogan “death to Khamenei” to criticize the supreme leader of Iran amid violent protests in the country.
What Happened: The board, which is funded by Meta but operates independently, in a ruling, said the phrase did not violate a rule barring violent threats.
It added that the slogan is often used to mean “down with Khamenei” while referring to Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“In the context of the post, and the broader social, political and linguistic situation in Iran, ‘marg bar Khamenei’ should be understood as ‘down with.’ It is a rhetorical, political slogan, not a credible threat,” the board said.
It also urged the tech giant to develop better ways of factoring such context into its content policies and outline clearly when rhetorical threats against top leaders were permitted.
This comes as Tehran is in the midst of a violent nationwide protest sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. With the protests continuing for months, the protestors are now focusing on Khamenei and are demanding an end to the Islamic government.
Iran sentenced three more people to death accused of killing three members of the security forces amid nationwide anti-hijab protests, reported AFP. With this, the total number of people sentenced to death in connection with the protests rose to 17.
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