Iranian Facebook users can now wish death on dictators

IRANIAN Facebook users can wish death on dictators, the social media company’s review board has ruled.

The decision came after Facebook blocked protesters calling for the death of the country’s supreme leader. In July last year, a post supporting the downfall of the Ayatollah and demanding “death to Khamenei” was removed.

However, the social network’s oversight board, which review’s moderation decisions, has overturned the ban.

The body, which includes former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, argued that the slogan “marg bar Khamenei” – literally “death to Khamenei” – did not violate its rules.

The post called for “death to” the “anti-women Islamic government” and “death to” its “filthy leader Khamenei”.

The board said the slogan should be read to mean “down with”, rather than a call for killing, and was a “rhetorical, political slogan, not a credible threat”.

The review added that Meta, Facebook’s parent company, risked harming political speech and human rights by taking down such forms of protest.

It said the context of the Iranian protests was important, and Meta needed to “do more to respect freedom of expression”. The board added, however, that other calls for the death of politicians in other situations – such as during the riots by Donald Trump supporters in the US on Jan 6 2021 – were different, since politicians were at more immediate risk of danger.

While Meta reinstated the post, it disagreed with the board and said the protests still broke its community rules over violent speech. However, it said the post was newsworthy, which granted it an exemption.

The oversight board said: “The Iranian government systematically represses freedom of expression and digital spaces have become a key forum for dissent. In such situations, it is vital that Meta supports users.”

The ruling comes as Meta mulls whether to reinstate the banned account of former US president Mr Trump. He was blocked from Facebook in the wake of the riots after praising his supporters who stormed the US Capitol building.

The board previously overruled the social network’s ban on Mr Trump’s account. It argued that the former president could not be indefinitely suspended, meaning Meta will have to decide whether his account’s ban should continue or not.

The ban on his account expired on Saturday. Meta is now thought to be considering whether to extend the ban or rescind it.