13/3/24, 13:44 Oversight g Board | Independent Judgment. Transparency. Legitimacy. Determining whether a person depicted is an identifiable prisoner of war in the context of an armed conflict requires expert consideration. Therefore, the rule requiring “additional context to enforce,” and thus requiring escalation to internal teams before it can be enforced, is necessary. Where content reveals the identity or location of prisoners of war, removal will generally be proportionate considering the severity of harms that can result from such content. Many public comments shared examples of such harms. Concerns were raised about the use of content depicting prisoners of war for propaganda purposes (see e.g., PC-11137 from Digital Rights Foundation, and PC-11144 from Igor Mirzakhanyan), especially when those images are disseminated by the detaining power. Prisoners of war can face many potential harms when their identities are revealed (see e.g., PC11096 from Article 19). These can include the humiliation of the prisoner, and the ostracization of them or their family on release. Severe harms may still result even where the user shares the content with well-meaning intent to raise awareness or condemn mistreatment. In this case, the faces of alleged prisoners of war are visible, and they are depicted as they are being captured. This process is accompanied with continuous shouting of abusive language and curse words directed at the prisoners, some of whom seem to be injured, while others appear to be deceased. However, in this case the potential for newsworthiness was correctly identified, leading to escalation to the Content Policy Team. It is important to ensure that escalations of this kind reach teams with the expertise necessary for assessing complex human rights implications, where the potential harm is imminent. The seriousness of these risks in the context of an armed conflict distinguishes this case from prior decisions where the Board has raised concerns about the scalability of the newsworthiness allowance (see e.g., “Sudan graphic video,” or “India sexual harassment video”). In this case, the video documents alleged violations of international humanitarian law. While the video may have been made by the detaining power, it appears that the user’s post was aimed at raising awareness of potential violations. This is important to the public’s right to information around the fact of the detainees’ capture, proof of them being alive and physical conditions of detention as well as shedding light on potential wrongdoing. It is correct that Meta’s newsworthiness allowance can apply to content that is not shared by professional media. Nevertheless, guidance available to journalists on responsible reporting in https://www.oversightboard.com/decision/FB-YLRV35WD/ 22/26