Facebook temporarily allows posts on violent speech against 'Russian invaders'

Due to the invasion of Ukraine, Facebook stated Thursday that it has temporarily relaxed its restrictions on violent expression to allow words like "death to Russian invaders," but not real threats against people. Moscow's widely criticised invasion of its neighbour has resulted in unprecedented sanctions from Western governments and corporations, as well as a rise in online rage.

"As a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we have temporarily permitted types of political expression that would typically violate our standards, including as aggressive statements such as 'death to the Russian invaders,'" Facebook's parent company Meta stated in a statement. "We will continue to reject serious demands for violence against Russian people," it said.

Facebook issued a comment in response to a Reuters article, which cited emails from the company to its content moderators and stated that the policy applies to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine.

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Facebook and other US digital behemoths have moved to punish Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, and Moscow has also blocked access to the largest social media network and Twitter. Since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last month, Russian authorities have increased pressure on independent media, even though press freedoms in the country were already dwindling.

Last week, Facebook and Twitter were blocked and restricted. On the same day, Moscow endorsed the imposition of prison sentences on media outlets that published "false information" about the military. In this environment, Facebook has played an important role in information diffusion in Russia while facing harsh criticism in the West for issues ranging from political divisiveness to youngsters' mental health.

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Apple and Microsoft have indicated that they would no longer sell their goods in Russia, while other corporations have announced "pauses" in specific economic activity or relationships.

Also Read | Apple, Nike, Ford and more - Global brands shun Russia over Ukraine war

• Facebook
• Russia
• Ukraine
• Russia Ukraine crisis
• Meta
• Apple
• Microsoft