In light of the rapidly developing conflict in Ukraine, social media has emerged as a critical tool for informing the public and providing a direct line of communication between residents in Russia and Ukraine and the rest of the globe.
However, the Russian Government has blocked access to Facebook, claiming that the platform disabled the accounts of four Russian media outlets.
The Zvezda TV channel, the RIA Novosti news agency, and the Lenta.ru and Gazeta.ru Internet sites were among the four Russian media organisations that had their official Facebook profiles suspended on February 24th. As reported by the Russian communications and tech regulator, “Federal law prohibits such behaviour in connection to Russian media and Internet resources. We’ve written to Meta Platforms, requesting that the limits Facebook has placed on Russian media be lifted and an explanation of their rationale for doing so be provided.” The Russian regulating body claims Meta ignored.
As a result of this, Russia’s Federal Service for the Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Communications has decided to implement measures to ‘partially restrict access’ to Facebook for Russian users.
Meta then responded, confirming that it had been designating misinformation from state media as such for some time, which is likely the primary rationale behind the decision to remove the information. See tweet below.
For the second time in a week or so we’ve seen social media play a key role in the situation and the spread of vital information, and we’re seeing how leaders in some regions are trying to limit this by applying pressure on the large social platforms, as Meta’s Nick Clegg points out.
Nearly two-thirds of Russia’s and Ukraine’s populations use Facebook, putting it in a position to have a major impact. The Russians, however, are well-versed in the power of Facebook to influence public opinion, since they have used the program to spread misinformation in other countries.
That Russia is restricting Facebook access in a bid to influence public narratives is not surprising, as the country has already attempted to do so by threatening action and implementing legislation to force social sites to remove content at their requests.
The value of social media in times of crisis is once again highlighted by this incident. False reports and tales are all over the internet right now, spread by groups with ulterior motives.
