Russia started a full-scale invasion in Ukraine on Thursday (February 24), months after stationing over 1 lakh security soldiers along the border. Following this, social media behemoths went after Russian state-owned media.
“We’re temporarily stopping adverts in Ukraine and Russia to guarantee vital public safety information gets elevated and ads don’t detract from it,” Twitter said in a tweet on Saturday (February 26). To limit the spread of offensive content, it had also stopped certain tweet recommendations for those in war-torn Ukraine and Russia.
To preserve the safety of its users, the microblogging site had also blocked access to its services for some persons in Russia.’ “Keeping people safe on Twitter is our top responsibility.” “We’re keeping a close eye on the hazards related with the situation in Ukraine, including identifying and disrupting attempts to spread false and misleading information,” the statement said.
Facebook has made it impossible for Russia to monetize its state-owned news output
Nathaniel Gleicher , Meta’s Head of Security Policy, declared on Saturday (February 26) that Facebook will no longer let Russia’s state-controlled media to run advertising or monetize their content.
“We have now made it illegal for Russian state media to run advertisements or monetize on our platform anywhere in the globe.” We’re also continuing to slap labels on more Russian state-run publications. These modifications have already begun to take effect and will continue through the weekend,” he wrote on Twitter.
“We are closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and will keep sharing steps we’re taking to protect people on our platform,” he further added.
Russia and other state-owned media channels are no longer monetized on YouTube
YouTube said on Saturday (February 26) that it will no longer allow Russian state-owned media outlets to monetize their content on the video streaming platform. As a result, Russia Today (RT), a prominent news organization, is no longer allowed to make money from commercials.
The decision was made in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and European Union sanctions. The current disagreement has been described by YouTube as “exceptional circumstances,” and the company has stated that it will halt the monetization capabilities of Russian state-owned media sites.
At the same time, channels like RT have been blocked in Ukraine as a result of a government request. Russian official propaganda will also be less prominent in recommendations, according to spokeswoman Farshad Sadloo.
“We intend to assist Russians and the rest of the world in learning the truth.” I’ve asked YouTube to remove Russian propaganda networks including Russia 24, TASS, and RIA Novosti. We should halt this flood of poisonous lies if they are frightened of stating the truth,” Ukrainian Minister tweeted (Digital Transformation).
Users and lawmakers had previously urged the social media giant to halt the Russian government from spreading false information and profiting from the platform. Between 2016 and December 2018, the Russian government earned $7 million to $32 million from 26 YouTube channels, according to reports.
Twitter has refused to take down accounts belonging to the Islamist group Taliban
Because the Taliban is deemed a terrorist organization under US law, Facebook banned the Taliban and all content promoting it in August of last year. After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook Inc., shut down a complaints helpline set up by the Taliban. YouTube, a video-sharing platform, has recently announced that it will remove Taliban-affiliated accounts.
Twitter, on the other hand, had declined to follow the lead of other social media giants like Facebook and YouTube in banning the Islamist group from using its platform. It had declined to suspend the accounts of Taliban leaders’ associates. “Keeping people safe is Twitter’s top priority, and we remain watchful,” the social media behemoth asserted.
