How Accountable Is a Moderator for Harmful Online Content?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

I work for a Muslim marriage app with a social feature where users discuss shared interests. Some posts, while not violating guidelines, lead to harmful discourse like sectarianism or misogyny.

We’re told to remain unbiased and leave them up. Would allowing such posts be considered negligence, and would we be accountable for this on the Day of Judgment?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Providing a platform for online discussion is permissible, and you are not responsible for what individuals do with their platform usage.  Still, if known harm proliferates, and you can stop it, you are responsible for that, within reason,  Allah knows best.

Please consult this related answer.

The Question of Accountability

If your role is purely administrative, facilitating a platform without actively promoting or encouraging harmful content, you may not be directly sinful. This would resemble the case of someone renting out a space, unaware or uninvolved in every individual use of it.

Allah Most High says:

“And do not assist one another in sin and transgression. But assist one another in righteousness and piety.” [Quran, 5:2]

Creating a permissible app, especially when it facilitates living by Allah’s laws, is a form of assisting in righteousness. If people decide to abuse neutral or “innocent” tools, the responsibility remains their own, and Allah knows best.

Stopping Harm

Where harm is proliferated, and you can stop it, you should do so within reason, and without causing further harm. Though your examples of “harm,” especially misogyny, are concerning, since it is a concept explicitly permitted in the Quran. Qualified scholars should determine what is and is not harm, and Allah knows best.

Remaining “unbiased” does not necessitate being passive in the face of harm. Rather, fairness sometimes requires actively protecting users from content that can damage their faith, self-worth, or unity. This is especially important in a platform that serves Muslims, where Islamic values should be reflected, even if subtly, in the framework. Again, do work with scholars for this.

Practical Guidance

• Clarify Your Role: If you truly have no editorial or moderation control, you are not directly aiding sin. Still, try to advocate internally for better safeguards, especially around known harms.
• Minimize Doubt: The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Leave that which causes you doubt for that which does not…” [Tirmidhi]

If your conscience is unsettled, it may be a sign to reassess your involvement or voice concerns constructively.

Ultimately, your intention, efforts to prevent harm where possible, and continued growth in taqwa (Allah-consciousness) matter. You are not held to account for what is beyond your control, but you are accountable for what you permit when you do have control.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town. He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.