Moderation on Facebook is sometimes tricky, especially when posts concern international conflicts.

This is the case with Iran.

A message "death to Khamenei", Iran's supreme leader, was removed by the group because it violated the rules of the platform.

But in the context of the Iranian revolt against the Islamic Republic, the supervisory board of the American giant Meta, the parent company of Facebook, called on the social network to authorize the publication.

In its decision released on Monday, "the board finds that the removal of the post does not comply with Meta's community standards, values, or human rights responsibilities.

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“In the context of this publication and the general social, political and linguistic situation in Iran, 'marg bar Khamene' ['death to Khamenei' in Farsi] should be understood as 'down'.

It is a rhetorical and political slogan, and not a credible threat, ”explains the body described as independent but financed by Meta.

Uphold freedom of expression

The publication in question is from July 2022: it contains a cartoon of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with the caption "death to the anti-women Islamic government" and "death to its filthy leader Khamenei".

The oversight board says Facebook's failure to enforce free speech "has led to the silencing of political speech aimed at protecting women's rights."



Meta frequently has to decide between moderating content that could be deemed violent and defending freedom of expression.

Last March, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, the group led by Mark Zuckerberg, for example, decided to make exceptions to its rules on incitement to violence and hatred by tolerating hostile messages. to the Russian army and leaders.

Meta later clarified his position by saying he does not authorize death threats against Russian heads of state or citizens.

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