RUSSIA/UKRAINE: According to reports, the owner of Facebook and Instagram will allow people in some countries to call for violence against Russian President Vladimir Putin and soldiers.
Meta claims it has temporarily created exceptions for some violent speech that would normally be prohibited, such as “death to the Russian invaders.”
It further stated that violence against Russian residents would not be tolerated. Meanwhile, Russia has replied by pressing the United States to put a stop to Facebook’s “extremist activity.”
“We made a temporary exception for persons affected by the war, to voice aggressive opinions toward invading armed forces,” a Meta spokesperson reportedly said in light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Users in countries such as Russia, Ukraine, and Poland will be able to call for the deaths of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko under the new policy.
The emails stated that calls for the leaders’ killings would be permitted unless they included other targets, a location, or a method of execution.
When a message refers to the invasion of Ukraine, calls for violence against Russians is also permitted, according to the emails.
“We demand that US authorities put an end to Meta’s extremist actions and take steps to prosecute the culprits,” Russia’s embassy in the US said in a tweet.
“Facebook and Instagram users did not give the platforms’ owners the right to establish the standards of truth and set nations against one another,” it continued.
Last Monday, Russia stated that it would block Facebook and its platforms, alleging 26 examples of “discrimination” by Facebook against Russian media since October 2020.
While access to the site has been restricted in Russia, it was not totally shut down.
Moscow has tightened down on several social media platforms.
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