Facebook, Instagram issue apology for blocking #Sikh, netizens demand investigation

While Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been advocating for free expression on social media platforms, the company apparently found that the hashtag #Sikh goes against its “Community Standards”. Facebook and Instagram users have been raising the issue with the tech giant for months and the company finally took the notice and admitted its “mistake”.

In a series of tweets, Instagram’s PR team said that they investigated the issue and found that the hashtags were mistakenly blocked on March 7 following a report that was “inaccurately reviewed” by the teams. It added that the company received feedback from the community and quickly moved to unblock it.

“Our processes fell down here, and we’re sorry,” tweeted the PR team.

In an apparent reference to Operation Blue Star, which led to the destruction of the Golden Temple in Amritsar in the first week of June 1984, the PR handle said that it is an “incredibly important, painful time” for Sikh Community. It added that the hashtags are designed to allow people to come together and share with one another. 

“It's never our intention to silence the voices of this community, we are taking the necessary steps so this doesn’t happen again,” said the team.

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Netizens furious

Social media was furious over the blocking of #Sikh for nearly three months and called for a thorough investigation into the issue. A Twitter user wanted to know why the hashtag was blocked, who reviewed it, why was it deemed inappropriate, and what’s being done to ensure this won’t happen again. Check out some of the reactions:

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