Meta will not delete posts from users using the slogan “death to Khamenei”. This was decided by the Oversight Board of the holding company that owns Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, i.e. the body that makes content moderation decisions on the platforms owned by Mark Zuckerberg. The slogan “death to Khamenei” is among those used during protests in Iran to criticize the Iranian leader. But the board, according to Reuters reports, would have decided that it does not violate the rule that prohibits violent threats and hate content.
The rule, introduced two years ago together with a series of measures to stem violence on social media a few days after the assault on the Capitol in Washington by Trumpian supporters, has been applied across the board in all the countries where Meta works. On March 11, however, the first exception, when the holding decided not to limit the posts wishing Putin’s death, a few weeks after the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops. Now the same decision in Iran, where there have been protests against the regime and its Supreme Leader for months.
For the Oversight Board – which operates independently of Meta – the phrase is often used to mean “down with Khamenei”. More than an incitement to kill the leadera, it would therefore be understood as a protest against those who ordered the violent repression of protests nationwide in recent months. The watchdog also urged the company to develop better ways to take the broader context into account in its content policies and clearly outline when rhetorical threats against heads of state are allowed.
“In the context of the post and the broader social, political and linguistic situation in Iran, ‘margh bar Khamenei’ should be understood as ‘down.’ It is a rhetorical, political slogan, not a credible threat,” the Board wrote in his opinion sent to the company.