The goal bans Russian state media from advertising or monetizing Facebook content as Vladimir Putin launches widespread repression against internal dissent over Russia’s unpopular and illegally aggressive war with Ukraine.
Nathaniel Gleicher, head of Facebook’s security policy, announced the ban on Twitter, writing: “We now ban Russian state media from running ads or earning revenue from our platform anywhere in the world.
“We also continue to apply labels to additional Russian state media. These changes have already begun to take effect and will continue over the weekend.
On Friday, Putin ordered a “partial” blockade of Facebook, with Kremlin officials claiming it was a response to the technology giant’s “censorship” of its state media. The move came after Facebook restricted the accounts of several Kremlin-backed media over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian tyrant is now feverishly suppressing domestic criticism of the war in Ukraine, with the media oversight on Saturday ordering the media to remove reports describing the Kremlin’s attack as “attacking, invading or declaring war” or blocking and fining the person.
In a statement, Roskomnadzor accused several independent media outlets, including the Dozhd TV channel and the country’s leading independent newspaper, of spreading “unreliable socially significant false information” about the shelling of Ukrainian cities by the Russian army and the deaths of civilians.
Citing a request from the Prosecutor General’s Office, the communications regulator said the media, which included Echo of Moscow radio, would be blocked unless “unreliable information” was removed.
“Roskomnadzor has also launched an administrative investigation into the dissemination of unreliable socially significant information from the aforementioned media,” the supervisory body said. The crime is punishable by a fine of up to 5 million rubles ($ 60,000), the statement said.
Russia’s media regulator also said “reliable information” could be found in “official Russian news outlets.”
Putin addresses the nation for the recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics
Meta has banned Russian state media from running ads or providing revenue from Facebook content
Rally against the special military operation in Ukraine on Pushkin Square in Moscow on February 24, 2022
Moscow has so far not provided any details about Russia’s losses in the fighting in the face of Kiev’s statements that they have inflicted heavy losses on Moscow’s forces.
The invasion of Ukraine took place during an unprecedented attack on the Russian opposition, with protest leaders killed, imprisoned or forced to leave the country.
Putin’s war appears to be unpopular in Russia, with protesters taking to the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg calling for an end to the violence.
This week, Russian police detained more than 1,700 people at anti-war protests across Russia.
About 1,702 people were detained in 53 Russian cities, at least 940 in Moscow and more than 340 in St. Petersburg’s second-largest city, according to OVD-Info, which tracks arrests of opposition rallies.
Meanwhile, the Russians are believed to have been warned by the authorities that any “negative comments” about Putin’s aggression would be treated as “betrayal”.
Police detained a woman during a protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Moscow on February 24, 2022.
A man carries a banner during an anti-war protest in Moscow, Russia, February 24, 2022.
Police detained a man during a protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Moscow on February 24, 2022.
This comes after human rights activists warned of a new wave of repression against dissent in Russia as protests began.
There will be new (criminal) cases for saboteurs, spies, treason, prosecution for anti-war protests, detentions of journalists and bloggers, authors of critical posts on social networks, bans on investigating the situation in the army, etc. onwards, “Pavel Chikov, a prominent human rights defender, wrote on Facebook.
“It’s hard to say how big this new wave will be, given that everything has already been suppressed.”
More than 150 senior Russian officials have signed an open letter condemning Putin’s invasion as an “unprecedented atrocity” and warning of “catastrophic consequences.”
Deputies said they were convinced that Russian citizens did not support the war and accused Putin “personally” of ordering troops in Ukraine in an attack “for which there is no and cannot be justified.”
Several Russian celebrities and public figures, including those working for state television, have also spoken out against the attack.