Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced on Tuesday that it will now remove any post containing the word "Zionist" when used to refer to Jews or Israelis, AFP reported.

In a statement, Meta stated, "We will now remove messages targeting 'Zionists' across several fields where our research has shown the term tends to be used to refer to Jews and Israelis, often in dehumanizing comparisons or calls for harm or denial of their existence."

Five months ago, the social media giant launched an investigation into how this term is used on its platforms "due to the increasing polarization of public discourse in the Middle East."

The investigation involved historians, rights groups, and associations, aiming to determine whether the term was used to refer to supporters of a political movement, Jews, or the Israeli people.

Meta concluded from its investigation that "there is no general consensus on what people mean when they use the term 'Zionist.'"

However, based on their research and investigations related to the use of this term on platforms to refer to the Jewish people and Israelis in connection with certain types of hate speech, Meta will now remove content targeting 'Zionists' with hate speech.

The statement cited examples of how the term 'Zionist' is used on platforms, including "claims that they control the world or the media," "dehumanizing comparisons, such as comparing them to pigs, dirt, or insects," and "calls for physical violence."

Prior to this decision, platform administrators had only removed messages that compared Zionists to rats or when Jews or Israelis were clearly targeted.

The company and an independent board are also weighing when to allow the pro-Palestinian slogan “from the river to the sea” on Instagram and Facebook.

On another note, Meta recently relaxed its rules regarding the use of the Arabic word "shahid" (martyr), which had been banned on its platforms because it was deemed to incite hatred.