Facebook bans Russian state media from running ads!

Facebook issued a restriction against Russian state media's ability to monetize from ads on the social media platform.

File photo: Facebook

Sanction coming from the state media's misinformation?

Social media networks have become one of the fronts in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, home to sometimes misleading information but also real-time monitoring of a quickly developing conflict.

Meta's Nick Clegg revealed that Russian authorities ordered them to stop the independent fact-checking and labeling of content posted on Facebook by four Russian state-owned media organizations.

Clegg said "ordinary Russians" were using Meta's apps to "express themselves and organize for action" and that the company wanted them to continue to do so.

His statement and refusal to obey the order came hours after Russia's media regulator said it was limiting access to Facebook. They also accused the US tech giant of censorship and violating the rights of Russian citizens.

In return Meta-owned company Facebook released the sanction against the Russian state media. Security policy head Nathaniel Gleicher announced on Twitter, 

We are now prohibiting Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on our platform anywhere in the world.

Gleicher added that Facebook would "continue to apply labels to additional Russian state media. He said that these changes have already begun rolling out and will continue into the weekend.

In addition to that, the platform unveiled a feature in Ukraine that allows users to lock their profiles for increased security. Allegedly, this is also a tool that was used after Afghanistan fell to the Taliban last year.

Meanwhile, Meta has been rolling out a privacy and account security alert in Ukraine with specific steps on how to protect their Instagram account. Gleicher noted that they have that security teams who will continue monitoring for emerging threats and enforce against malicious activity.

In response to the unfolding military conflict in Ukraine Gleicher said that Facebook had set up a Special Operations Center to monitor the situation. The company also hired experts (including native speakers) so they can closely monitor the situation and act as fast as possible.

What do you think?

Sources: Nathaniel Gleicher (Twitter), ABS-CBN