PETALING JAYA: Meta has apologised for the removal of content from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Facebook and Instagram accounts related to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh last week.
"We apologise for an operational error where content from the Prime Minister’s Facebook and Instagram Pages were removed, and the content has since been restored with the correct newsworthy label," a Meta spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed response to questions.
Yesterday, the government demanded an apology from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for its removal of several social media posts by Anwar on Haniyeh.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said the demand was made when communications minister Fahmi Fadzil and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Salim Fateh Din met with Meta representatives yesterday.
In a statement, the PMO said it had also demanded a detailed explanation of Meta’s actions.
The posts removed by Meta included one in which Anwar paid tribute to Haniyeh after he was killed in Tehran, Iran, on July 31.
Last month, Meta also apologised for an incorrect automated translation of a Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) post related to the installation of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim.
Meta’s director of public policy in Southeast Asia, Rafael Frankel, said the company was made aware of a mistake in the automated translation from Malay to English.
Meta also apologised for an error in the automated translation from Malay to English of a Facebook post related to the birthday of Che’ Puan Mahkota Khaleeda Johor.
"We deeply respect the Malaysian royal family and sincerely apologise to RTM, the Johor state council and others impacted by this," Frankel said in a statement.
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