Facebook and Instagram are reportedly allowing temporary calls for violence against Russians and Vladimir Putin amid the war in Ukraine.
Reuters reported Thursday that users of the two platforms “in some countries” can share violent posts “in the context of the Ukraine invasion,” according to obtained emails.
The emails note that calls for violence against Russian soldiers are permitted because they are “used as a proxy for the Russian military”.
Reuters alleges that Meta is “also temporarily allowing some posts that call for death to Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in countries including Russia, Ukraine and Poland”.
Calls for Putin and Lukashenko’s deaths are allowed “unless they contain other targets or have two indicators of credibility, such as the location or method”.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said “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.’ We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians”.
Facebook’s “Violence and Incitement” policy says “While we understand that people commonly express disdain or disagreement by threatening or calling for violence in non-serious ways, we remove language that incites or facilitates serious violence”.
The countries where the policy is being applied are Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Russia and Ukraine, reported Fox News.
