Facebook, Instagram and Twitter limit ads over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Facebook is blocking Russian state media from running ads on its platform anywhere in the world. The move comes after Russia said it would limit access to the giant social network in the country.

Nathaniel Gleicher, head of security policy at Facebook, tweeted: “We are now prohibiting Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on our platform anywhere in the world.”

Twitter, which banned advertising from state-controlled media in 2019, said on Friday that it was temporarily pausing all ads in Ukraine and Russia “to ensure critical public safety information is elevated and ads don’t detract from it.”

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, says the decision to bar Russian state media from making money on that platform as well as on Instagram comes in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

The social network says it’s also continuing to label state-owned media accounts.

Earlier, Meta said Russian authorities had ordered it to stop labeling and fact-checking state media.

On Friday, Russia’s communications regulator accused Facebook of censorship and said it was partially limiting access to the platform.

Tech companies are under pressure to limit the spread of misleading information and propaganda about the conflict, while also facing threats from the Kremlin, which has been tightening its grip on communications.

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