As Daniel McAdams reports, Fakebook and Instagram are temporarily allowing users to advocate violence against Russians. And that’s anyone who is Russian, not just Russian soldiers invading Ukraine.
Daniel posted a Reuters tweet that reads, “EXCLUSIVE Facebook and Instagram to temporarily allow calls for violence against Russians” with a link to its own article, which is now taken down. Hmm, I wonder why? But I found the article on the Wayback Machine.
But now I am seeing the Reuters article up again, although with changes.
The Reuters tweet-linked article headline, according to the Wayback Machine, reads, “Exclusive: Facebook will temporarily allow posts calling for violence against Russians, calls for Putin’s death”.
And the changed article headline now reads, “Facebook allows war posts urging violence against Russian invaders”.
The changed article now includes a statement by Fakebook a.k.a. Statebook, but even the statement clarifying the initial policy statement is contradictory.
Here is part of the added statement by Facebook:
“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,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
“won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians”
But further down in the updated Reuters article, the quoted Facebook email to moderators reads in part:
“We are issuing a spirit-of-the-policy allowance to allow T1 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.),” it said in the email.
“…to allow T1 violent speech that would otherwise be removed under the Hate Speech policy when…or (b) targeting Russians where it’s clear that the context…”
That (b) clause isn’t going with the “EXCEPT,” but continues from the (a) clause, referring to what is allowed. So, “targeting Russians” means … Russians. Not soldiers.
As Daniel McAdams notes,
It is very clear that we are not progressing as a society toward ever-more liberal values. We are regressing to a violent, feral state. Endlessly looking inward for enemies to destroy. “Anti-vaxxers,” Trump voters, and now just plain old everyday Russians. Kill them. They are evil. Is this OK?
Facebook, a de facto arm of government, is now encouraging calls for violence against innocent people who happen to be of a particular race or ethnic background or linguistic group.
Race-hate of an unpopular ethnic and religions group? Haven’t we seen this horrific movie before?
The Last Refuge has more on this public relations train wreck.
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