The Oversight Board of Meta has addressed the issue of content moderation policies in Venezuela amidst violent crackdowns and protests following the country’s disputed presidential election. The board stated that Facebook users discussing the state-backed armed groups, known as “colectivos,” should have more freedom to make statements like “kill those damn colectivos.” Meta sought guidance from the Oversight Board last month regarding an increase in anti-colectivos content following the election. The board deemed posts criticizing the colectivos as aspirational statements rather than calls for violence due to the state-backed repression in Venezuela. Additionally, the board criticized Meta’s practice of reducing the visibility of political content and recommended that during times of crisis, political content should have the same reach as non-political content. This case is not the first time the board has intervened in the debate over political content on Meta’s platforms and is expected to address Meta’s decision to limit the promotion of political posts.
