Meta Platforms (FB), parent company of social media giants Facebook and Instagram, is allowing users in some countries to call for violence against Russia’s military amid the ongoing attack on Ukraine.
The social media company is also temporarily allowing some posts that call for death to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in countries including Russia, Ukraine and Poland, according to the company.
“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,” Meta Platforms said in a written statement.
The calls for the leaders’ deaths will be allowed unless they contain other targets or have two indicators of credibility, such as the location or method, the company said.
The temporary policy change on calls for violence to Russian soldiers and leaders applies to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
Last week, Russia said it was banning Facebook in response to what it said were restrictions of access to Russian media on the platform. Moscow has cracked down on technology companies in recent weeks, including Twitter (TWTR).
Several social media platforms have announced new content restrictions around the conflict, including blocking Russian state media RT and Sputnik in Europe.
