Meta’s policy of moderation is facing a real headache with the war in Ukraine. Accused in the past of having been too flowing with hateful messages or calls for violence on Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram, the group finds itself today in the exact opposite position. He must be more lenient in the face of the mobilization of the Ukrainians invaded by the Russian army. This is revealed by the Reuters agency which was able to consult internal letters to the company.
But how far can this go? Because it is necessary all the same to pose limits and the framework fixed by Meta borders almost on the absurd one. For starters, it all depends on where you write. You have the right to verbally outrage Russians if you are in Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia or Slovakia. And it must have something to do with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Death calls against Putin allowed
Death calls are also allowed (!) under certain conditions. They may concern Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. But there is no question of revealing coordinates or methods to concretely carry out an assassination. Nor should it concern Russian prisoners or civilians.
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Proclamations against Russian soldiers in general are permitted. “Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we temporarily allowed forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules, such as violent speech such as ‘death to Russian invaders’a spokesperson for Meta confirmed in a statement.
Russia obviously reacted strongly to this relaxation on Twitter. Its embassy in the United States demands that Washington put an end to the supposed ” extremist activities by Meta. Anyway, Moscow banned Facebook on Russian soil.
More embarrassing, Meta also allows praise for the Ukrainian Azov Battalion, which claims to be neo-Nazi and white supremacist. The American giant confirms this exception insofar as the battalion is integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard. He reminds us that all these changes are only temporary.
Source: Reuters