In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Meta is temporarily changing its hate speech policy so Facebook and Instagram users in some countries can call for violence against Russian soldiers, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Reuters reports.
In a statement to Reuters, a Meta spokesperson said the social media company is making 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."
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Another email to content moderators says posts containing calls for violence against Russians can only stay up if it is clear users are talking about the invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reports. This temporary policy change applies to users in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia.
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