Meta, Instagram’s parent company, has issued an apology following a 404 Media report that revealed a translation error in the platform’s “see translation” feature. The error in question caused some Palestinian users to include the word “terrorist” in their biographies.
The error occurred while translating words like Alhamdulillah in the Instagram profile
The error occurred when translating Arabic phrases, including the Palestinian flag emoji and words such as “alhamdulillah,” meaning “Palestinian” and “praise be to God.”
Highlighting the problem, TikTok user ytkingkhan explained that he tested it after a friend reported the problem anonymously. He expressed concern that such disruptions could potentially fuel Islamophobic and racist rhetoric. While Meta states that the issue is only “short-term,” the exact number of affected users remains unclear.
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Amnesty Tech Director Rasha Abdul-Rahim criticized the Instagram apology as inadequate. Abdul-Rahim claimed that the mistranslations were not just an error but a systemic aspect of Meta’s platforms. He argued that Meta has a history of censoring and misclassifying Palestinian content, and that this issue was first identified by Amnesty International in 2021.
At the time, reports emerged of content and accounts being removed from Facebook and Instagram after Israeli police clashed with Palestinian protesters in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Many pro-Palestinian accounts have been subject to livestream restrictions, reductions in post views, or removal of content entirely. While some were flagged for innocuous activity related to events in Sheikh Jarrah, other content was labeled “sensitive” or potentially upsetting.
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Meta’s response to these issues was found inadequate, and a third-party report commissioned by the company confirmed that its actions had a negative human rights impact on the freedom of expression and political participation of Palestinian users. The issue continues with allegations that Palestinian supporters’ posts were suppressed or removed even if they did not violate the platform’s rules. Experts attribute this to a moderation bias issue and have historically labeled Meta as one of the most restrictive platforms with a history of systematic censorship of Palestinian voices.