Washington, March 11 (Sputnik) .- Meta, the parent company of the world’s largest social networks, Facebook and Instagram, plans to allow the publication of calls for violence against Russians for Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, said the spokesman for the company, Andy Stone, in a statement.
“As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have temporarily allowed forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules, such as violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’ We will not yet allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians,” Stone reported Thursday via Twitter.
In addition, the media giant will allow publications calling for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in several countries, including Russia, Ukraine and Poland, the Reuters news agency said in a Thursday report. report, citing internal company emails.
The company will consider calls for violence against Russian soldiers permissible, but not against prisoners of war, according to the report.
Meta will also allow praise for the Ukrainian neo-Nazi group Azov Battalion, which is normally banned.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine in response to calls by the Moscow-recognized republics of Donetsk and Luhansk for protection against attacks by Ukrainian troops.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is aimed only at Ukraine’s military infrastructure and that the population is not in danger, although the UN has documented hundreds of civilian deaths and injuries.
In response, Western nations launched a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Russia, prompting many international companies to abandon the Eurasian country’s market.
More than 30 international companies declared a reduction or suspension of their operations in the country, including major aircraft and car manufacturers, large technology and energy companies. (Sputnik)
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