Facebook Oversight board accepts case in India

Facebook’s Oversight board has accepted a new case in India concerning a user’s post on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) which makes references farmers protest.

The users shared the post from Punjabi online media platform Global Punjab TV where the post claimed that RSS and Modi are threatening Sikhs with genocide. The text ended with the warning that Sikhs in India should be on high alert and that Sikhs in the Punjab regiment were willing to protect farmers with their lives.

The post was viewed less than 500 times and was taken down after a single report. Facebook removed the content for violating its Community Standard on Dangerous Individuals and Organisations. After user submitted an appeal to the board, Facebook identified the removal of this post as an enforcement error and restored the content.

The user indicated to the board that the post was not threatening or criminal and that the comment simply reflected the video’s substance and reflected its tone. The video was a 17 minute interview with Professor Manjit Singh with the caption ‘RSS is the new threat. Ram Nam Satya Hai! The BJP has moved towards extremism. Scholars directly challenge Modi!’ The user wondered why the video still remained on Facebook which had raised issue with the users comment.

The board will take a decision on the case soon.