Meta extends rules allowing Ukrainian calls for violence until April 30
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The exemption will continue to be available only to Ukrainian users, as ordered by Meta at the end of March.
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The Ukrainian-only exemptions have already been in effect for one month.
Meta (banned in Russia as an extremist organization) will allow Ukrainian users to post violent and dehumanizing content on Facebook and Instagram for another three weeks, citing company documents.
According to Reuters, the exemption will be in effect until April 30 and will continue to be available only to Ukrainian users, as ordered by the company at the end of March.
Some Meta employees expressed frustration on an internal social platform about the fact that Ukrainians are being granted an unprecedented exception that no other users from conflict-torn regions, such as the Middle East, have received before, according to the news agency.
"Seems this policy is saying hate speech and violence is ok if it is targeting the 'right' people," one of Meta employees was cited as saying.
The Ukrainian-only exemptions have already been in effect for one month, but Meta has yet to provide its moderators with instructions on how to block false narratives about Russia's operation in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
On March 21, Russia labeled Meta as an extremist after the social media giant selectively relaxed its rules to allow Ukrainians to call for violence and use hate speech against Russian "invaders", including calls for the death of the Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
