Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, is allowing hate speech against Russians on its platforms as Russia continues to attack Ukraine, Reuters reported.
"As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as 'death to the Russian invaders,' a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. "We still won't allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians."
Reuters reported that calls for the deaths of Russian leaders will be allowed on the platforms unless they contain other targets or have two indicators of credibility, such as the location or method, according to a company email.
"We are issuing a spirit-of-the-policy allowance to allow violent speech that would otherwise be removed under the Hate Speech policy when: (a) targeting Russian soldiers, except prisoners of war, or (b) targeting Russians where it's clear that the context is the Russian invasion of Ukraine (e.g., content mentions the invasion, self-defense, etc.," Meta said in the email, according to Reuters. "We are doing this because we have observed that in this specific context, 'Russian soldiers' is being used as a proxy for the Russian military. The Hate Speech policy continues to prohibit attacks on Russians."
The Russian Embassy in the United States demanded in a March 10 tweet that American authorities stop the actions of Meta and "take measures to bring the perpetrators to justice,” adding, “Users of #Facebook & #Instagram did not give the owners of these platforms the right to determine the criteria of truth and pit nations against each other."
China has gotten involved as well, as several China state affiliated media companies have purchased global advertisements on Meta platforms pushing the Russian perspective on the invasion of Ukraine, Axios reported March 9.
International news channel, CGTN, which is owned by China Central Television (CCTV), is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, and claims to reach 1.2 billion people across the world, including 30 million households in the U.S., according to Axios. In 2021, the United Kingdom revoked its broadcasters' license, and in 2019, CGTN America registered as a foreign agent in the U.S.
Meta seems to be having difficulty balancing the free flow of information while combating disinformation, something Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs recently addressed, according to the report.
"We're in a completely unprecedented situation... which is why not only ourselves but many others in the tech sector are taking these pretty exceptional measures at this time," Clegg said in the Axios report.