The Russia-Ukraine war, which has been going on for almost three weeks, has had devastating effects in every area you can think of. Alongside the civilians who lost their lives, the cities hit and the people who left their homes to escape the war; The economies of both countries have been hit hard.
However, another controversial aspect of this war was the statements of ‘sanctions against the Russians’, from world giant companies to the sports world, from universities to orchestras. In addition to the steps taken to wear down Russia economically, decisions such as the dismissal of a Russian conductor in the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra were criticized for feeding hatred towards the Russian people and evolving into racism around the world. One such step was taken by Facebook last week.
Allowing hate speech against Putin and Russian troops, backed up after backlash
Shock made a few days ago by the umbrella company Meta on behalf of Facebook and Instagram “As a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we have temporarily allowed forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules, such as violent speech like ‘Death to the Russian occupiers,'” a statement said. statements are included; It was clearly stated that hate speech would be tolerated.
Another statement from the company today was interpreted as a big reverse. Meta Head of Global Relations Nick Clegg said in a statement on the subject that they do not support hate speech against both the Russians and the ‘killing of a head of state’; stated that they will go to update the community guides to clarify this issue.
In his statement, Clegg “stands against Meta Russophobia,” saying, “We have no tolerance for genocide, ethnic cleansing, or any calls for discrimination, harassment, or violence against Russians on our platform.” used the phrases. After all these developments and the release of hate speech, Russia blocked access to Instagram; Millions of users were banned from accessing the platforms.