You didn't read it wrong. Meta allowed Facebook and Instagram users to hurl violent remarks at Russia and the Russian army in the context of the invasion of Ukraine. Usually content like this is considered a violation of the rules, but this time it is allowed because it is a form of political speech.
"As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily allowed forms of political expression that normally violate our rules such as violent speeches such as 'death to the Russian invaders'," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. 2022).
"We still will not allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians."
The social media giant has also allowed posts calling for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in countries such as Russia, Ukraine and Poland.
Calls for death against Putin and Lukashenko will be allowed as long as they do not contain other targets or have two indicators of credibility, such as location or method.
Temporary policy changes that allow violent speeches against Russian soldiers were also implemented in neighboring Russia and Ukraine such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
"We issued a policy leeway to allow T1 violent speech that would otherwise be removed under the Hate Speech policy if: (a) it targets Russian soldiers, EXCEPT prisoners of war, or (b) targets Russian citizens where the context is clear about the Russian invasion of Ukraine (e.g., content mentioning invasion, self-defense, etc.)," Meta wrote in an email to moderators.
In response to this policy, the Russian Embassy in the United States asked Washington to stop Meta, which it considers "extreme activity" for allowing content like this.
"Meta's aggressive and criminal policies that lead to the incitement of hatred and hostility towards Russia are outrageous," the Russian embassy said in a statement.
"The company's actions are yet another proof of an information war with no rules declared to our country," he continued.
Russia itself has blocked social media such as Facebook and Twitter in its country because it is considered to limit Russian media content on their platforms. Many social media platforms have announced restrictions on content related to this conflict, including blocking RT and Sputnik media in Europe.