Meta Apologizes for Controversial Translations in Palestinian Instagram Bios
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, issued an apology after some users’ Instagram bios, who identified as Palestinian, were incorrectly translated to include the term “terrorist.” The company attributed the issue to a brief problem with Arabic translations in some of its products.
This incident has further fueled accusations of content suppression related to support for Palestinians during the Israel-Gaza conflict. Some users have reported being “shadow banned” on Instagram, a practice where their content is limited in reach and visibility. Instagram has previously faced similar allegations, and the recent incident underscores the challenges of managing content and translations on social media platforms.
In a related development, Meta, along with TikTok, has been requested by the European Commission to provide more information about their measures to combat the spread of disinformation and illegal content following events related to Hamas’ attacks.
