British House of Commons Member Ian Paisley criticized Facebook’s decision to appoint Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood activist Tawakkol Karman to the social media platform’s board of directors to oversight the content and said the decision is “unbelievable.”
“I think this decision taken by Facebook is counterintuitive, and is unbelievable,” said Paisley in an online discussion. “She cannot be considered appropriate for the job,” according to London’s Arab News.
Karman’s appointment to the Facebook Oversight Board weeks ago sparked widespread global outrage, especially since she is known for her support for the agenda of the Islah party, the political arm of the terrorist organization of the Muslim Brotherhood Group in Yemen.
Paisley announced that he had written to Facebook officials about Karman’s appointment to this sensitive position, and called on his country’s Ministry of Culture, Information and Sports to investigate this behavior.
“We have an organisation that’s set up to have a transparency process, and they then appoint (Karman), who frankly is not, and cannot be, regarded as fit to be in the position (she has) been appointed to,” he told the London-based newspaper.
Facebook May Investigate Decision
The British MP said that the ministry had promised in principle that an investigation should be conducted into the matter, noting that it could begin early next July.
He also called on the social media giant to take Karman out of a content oversight board, noting that “They don’t need an investigation. Facebook needs to take immediate action. They have to do the right thing.”
“Whether we have Christian, Muslim or Jewish backgrounds, we need to unite and speak with one voice. We back the freedom of expression, but not for the misuse of this free speech,” Paisley said.
Facebook previously said it had created a content censorship board to “exercise independent judgment and make some decisions about sensitive and important content.”
On his part, the international media and lawyer Paul Tweed expressed his concern about the company taking this decision to appoint Karman in the content control board, describing it as a “contempt” for the company’s board of directors.