Data, Annotation, and Meaning-Making: The Politics of Categorization in Annotating a Dataset of Faith-based Communal Violence

Data annotation is a process of meaning-making and is inherently political. The literature on ethics in data-driven technologies explores these political aspects, primarily focusing on questions of bias and power. This paper argues that the politics of annotation often overemphasize secular and modern values and overlooks faith-based, religious, and spiritual aspects (FRS) in data annotation. This oversight particularly affects the postcolonial regions of the Global South, where FRS are intertwined with people's everyday experiences and ethics. We conducted a focus group discussion and contextual inquiries with six annotators who annotated a faith-related "violence" dataset from South Asian YouTube content. Our analysis reveals that FRS blindness in data annotation manifests through the politics of achieving objectivity and the "scientific" process of meaning-making. Due to these goals, which are predominantly shaped by Western values, FRS sensitivities are overlooked from the initial stages of data curation through annotation, ultimately leading to a context collapse within the annotation process. Finally, we advocate for the adaptation of FRS sensitivities into the annotation process and data infrastructure, particularly when the dataset clearly pertains to FRS, to promote greater cultural and contextual inclusivity in annotation practices.