Facebook group relaxes hate speech rules for war in Ukraine

Facebook is relaxing its rules on calls for violence, creating a partial exception when the proposed target is Russian troops in Ukraine.

As an example of an exception for statements that would normally have violated guidelines, a spokesperson for Facebook’s parent company, Meta, cited the phrase “Death to the Russian invaders” late on Thursday. “We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians,” the spokesperson wrote on Twitter.

The relaxation only applies to users in some countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Hungary, The New York Times wrote.

Many Ukrainians have been venting their anger on Facebook amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which started two weeks ago.

Russian parliamentary leader Vyacheslav Volodin said the move would have to be examined by the Russian prosecutor’s office, the TASS news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned that there could be “decisive measures” taken against Meta services if the calls to violence are not blocked.

Facebook is blocked in Russia, while other Meta services, such as WhatsApp and Instagram, are still functioning.