Meta has updated its content moderation process after a controversy involving the temporary removal or limited reach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook video.
The company admitted the incident was a mistake and has introduced new checks for high-profile accounts to help prevent similar issues in the future.
The move comes after the Indian government sought an explanation from Meta over the incident.
What happened?
A Facebook video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which he called for strict action against paper leaks, was temporarily removed or had its reach restricted.
Following the issue, the Centre asked Meta to explain what happened.
IT Secretary S. Krishnan said Meta expressed regret over the incident, and senior company officials assured the government that they would provide a detailed explanation.
New review process for VIP accounts
According to reports, Meta has now introduced an additional review process for content posted by VIP or high-profile accounts.
Under the new system, any action against posts from prominent political leaders, government entities, or other important public figures will go through an extra level of review before a decision is made.
The company believes this will reduce the chances of important content being removed or its visibility being limited because of technical errors or human mistakes.
Senior moderation teams will also have greater oversight before decisions are made on such sensitive content.
However, Meta has not confirmed whether these new rules will apply only in India or be expanded to VIP accounts globally.
Debate over content moderation
The incident has once again raised questions about how social media platforms handle content moderation.
In recent years, Meta, X, and other platforms have faced criticism in several countries because automated systems have sometimes removed legitimate content after mistakenly identifying it as a policy violation.
Experts believe the extra review process for high-profile accounts could reduce such errors.
At the same time, they say platforms must remain transparent and ensure that content rules are applied fairly to all users.
It will now be important to see whether Meta’s new moderation process makes its content review system more reliable in the future.
