Russia

Facebook said Thursday that due to the invasion of Ukraine it has temporarily eased its rules regarding violent speech to allow statements like "death to Russian invaders," but not credible threats against civilians.Moscow's internationally condemned invasion of its neighbor has provoked unprecedented sanctions from Western governments and businesses, but also a surge of online anger."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,'" Facebook's parent company Meta said in a statement."We still won't allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians," it added.Facebook made its statement after a Reuters report, citing the firm's emails to its content moderators, which said the policy applies to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine.Facebook and other US tech giants have moved to penalize Russia for the attack on Ukraine, and Moscow has also moved to block access to the leading social media network as well as Twitter.Russia thus joins the very small club of countries barring the largest social network in the world, along with China and North Korea.Since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last month, Russian authorities have stepped up pressure against independent media even though press freedoms in the country were already rapidly waning.Blocking of Facebook and restricting of Twitter last week came the same day Moscow backed the imposition of jail terms on media publishing "false information" about the military.
In this context, Facebook had played a key information distribution role in Russia, even as it endures withering criticism in the West over matters ranging from political division to teenagers' mental health.The war is, meanwhile, taking place during a period of unprecedented crackdown on the Russian opposition, with has included protest leaders being assassinated, jailed or forced out of the country.Big US tech firms like Apple and Microsoft have announced halting the sale of their products in Russia, while other companies have made public their "pauses" of certain business activities or ties.Last week, US internet service provider Cogent Communications said it had "terminated its contracts with customers billing out of Russia."The Washington Post reported Cogent has "several dozen customers in Russia, with many of them, such as state-owned telecommunications giant Rostelecom, being close to the government."It's exactly the kind of measure Ukrainian officials have been campaigning heavily for as they ask Russia be cut off from everything from Netflix to Instagram.





Unlimited Portal Access + Monthly Magazine - 12 issues


Contribute US to Start Broadcasting - It's Voluntary!


ADVERTISE


Merchandise (Peace Series)

 


Russia Claims New Village in Ukraine’s Donetsk Region


[Russia] - Moscow Blames Sanctions for Russia-UN Food Deal Collapse


[Russia] - Russia Says Foreign Minister Lavrov Met Kim Jong Un


[Russia] - Ukraine Says 6 Killed in Massive Russian Drone, Missile Attack


[Russia] - Conference Seeks Solidarity Among Indigenous Peoples of Russia, Ukraine and Central Asia


Russia and Belarus to Develop AI Rooted in 'Traditional Values'


[Russia] - Russia's FM Lavrov Arrives in North Korea


Russia Orders Closure of Polish Consulate in Kaliningrad


[Russia] - Elite Russian Marine Unit Commander Reportedly Killed in Ukrainian Missile Strike


Russia Nationalizes Country’s Third-Largest Gold Producer


[Russia] - Russia Weighs Scrapping Its Only Aircraft Carrier After Years of Restoration Delays


Border Defense Fraud Probe Targets Belgorod Region Officials – Kommersant


[Russia] - Dutch Court Sentences Russian to 3 Years for Sharing Microchip Technology


Peskov Defends Russia’s Media Crackdown as Part of ‘Information War’


[Russia] - Starovoit Buried at Historic St. Petersburg Cemetery Days After Suspected Suicide


[Russia] - Ukrainian Attacks on Western Russia Kill At Least 3


[Russia] - Russian Military Personnel Costs Hit Record High-- Analysis


[Russia] - St. Petersburg Court Drops 'LGBT Propaganda' Case Against Popular Bookstore


[Russia] - Russian Police Offered Bonuses to Recruit Detainees for Ukraine War-- Vyorstka


[Russia] - Ukrainian Attack on Belgorod Region Kills 2, Governor Says


[Russia] - Russian State Media Turns on Trump After Putin Criticism


[Russia] - Putin Skips Memorial Service for Ex-Transportation Minister, Sends Wreath Instead


[Russia] - 'We Are Being Held Without Protection': North Caucasus Women Decry Dire Conditions in Kurdish-Run Syrian Camps


[Russia] - Rubio and Lavrov Held 'Frank Exchange' on Sidelines of ASEAN Summit, Moscow Says


[Russia] - Moscow Swelters in Heat Wave After Powerful Storms Batter the City


Nizhny Novgorod Region Rolls Back Migrant Work Ban Amid Labor Shortages


[Russia] - Russian Basketball Player Arrested in France at Request of United States


Gelendzhik Airport to Reopen More Than 3 Years After Wartime Closure


[Russia] - Moscow Theatre Director Questioned in Large-Scale Embezzlement Probe


Russia Adds Entrepreneur Kidnapped at Moscow Train Station to ‘Terrorists and Extremists’ List


[Russia] - Death by Falling: A Timeline of Cases Across Russia and Abroad


[Russia] - Russia to Launch Direct Flights From Moscow to North Korean Capital on July 27


Crimean Woman Fined Over $1K for Posting Photos of Men in Wedding Dresses Online


[Russia] - Leading European Court Rules Russia Committed Rights Abuses in Ukraine, Downing of MH17


[Russia] - Rangers Kill 11 Brown Bears Lured by Food Waste in Russia's Far East


Russia Reopens Embassy in Tehran 2 Weeks After Israel-Iran Ceasefire


[Russia] - Kremlin Brushes Off Trump's 'Tough Talk' and Claims 'No Disagreement' on Ukraine Negotiations


[Russia] - Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Visit North Korea This Weekend


[Russia] - Russian Lawmakers Greenlight Restoration of FSB-Run Prison Network


[Russia] - FSB Agents Shoot and Kill Man Accused of Planning Bridge Bombing in Saratov Region


[Russia] - Russian Military Launches Largest-Ever Air Attack on Ukraine


Ukrainian Drone Attack on Kursk City Beach Kills 4, Governor Says


[Russia] - Russian Broadcaster RTVI Starts Airing in Mali


[Russia] - Trump Accuses Putin of Talking 'Bulls ***' on Ukraine


[Russia] - Russia Plans USAID-Inspired Development Model in Bid to Extend Global Influence


FSB Accuses Ex-Independent Media Manager of Treason


Russia Blacklists Yale University as ‘Undesirable’ Organization


[Russia] - Ignore Donald Trump's 'Political Seesaw,' Russia's Medvedev Says


Russian Military Drone Crashes Into Dacha in Republic of Tatarstan


Nadezhdin Campaign Manager Stripped of Russian Citizenship


Who Was Roman Starovoit, the Sacked Transportation Minister Found Dead in Apparent Suicide


[Russia] - Russian Tour Companies Introduce Trips to Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan for $3K


Lavrov Names Sanctions Relief and Return of Frozen Assets as Preconditions for Ukraine Ceasefire


[Russia] - Former Russian National Guard Official Arrested on Bribery, Abuse of Power Charges


[Russia] - Black Sea Oil Spill Reaches Abkhazia's Shores


[Russia] - Russian Anti-Terrorism Police Warn of Foreign Spying Disguised as Photo Contests


Russian Army Says It Seized First Village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk Region


[Russia] - Former Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit Found Dead With Gunshot Wound After Being Sacked by Putin


[Russia] - Russia Targets Emigres in Kazakhstan With Back Tax Demands


Ukrainian Drone Attacks Trigger Major Flight Disruptions at Russia’s Busiest Airports


[Russia] - New Details Emerge in Bribery Case Against Rusagro Founder


[Russia] - Far-Flung Kamchatka Peninsula Restricts Mobile Internet to Thwart Alleged Ukrainian Sabotage


Rosstat Stops Publishing Monthly Population Data Amid War Deaths, Demographic Crisis


[Russia] - Russian Gold Mining Tycoon Barred From Leaving Country Amid Nationalization Efforts


Putin Sacks Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit


[Russia] - Ukraine Says 4 Killed, Over 30 Wounded in Russian Strikes


Russia Says Captured 2 More East Ukraine Settlements in Donetsk and Kharkiv Regions


UN Condemns Russia's Largest Drone Assault on Ukraine