Meta Policy Change Allows Users To Call For Violence Against Russians In Context Of Ukraine Invasion, Leading To Memes About Content Moderation And Mark Zuckerberg's Face

Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, announced today that it would create an exception to its content moderation policies and allow posts calling for violence against Russian soldiers and political leaders in the context of the Ukraine invasion. Facebook generally bans all posts calling for violence, but while the war in Ukraine continues, users in Eastern European countries will be able to advocate violence against representatives of the Russian state. Posts calling for harm to Russian civilians will still be prohibited.

The decision was controversial and spawned multitudes of memes and commentary, particularly about Meta’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Instagram was also banned in Russia following the policy change.

You are now welcome to wish death to the Russian invaders. – Mark Zuckerberg pic.twitter.com/hwIZEMamFf

— grublés (@notgrubles) March 11, 2022

"People don't care about what you say, they care about what you build." – Mark Zuckerberg pic.twitter.com/NVNIhxo2MC

— Amit 🇺🇦 (@Amit_T18) March 11, 2022

Many accused Meta of Russophobia and of applying a double standard in its content moderation policy. Some online, especially those with ties to the Russian government, pointed out that Meta’s policy change allowed users to praise the Azov Battalion, a neo-nazi militia that is part of Ukraine's National Guard. However, the Azov Battalion itself is still banned from Facebook and cannot use Meta’s platforms to recruit or post. The emphasis placed by Meta critics on the Azov Battalion fits into the false, Russian-state-led narrative that the war in Ukraine is a “denazification” project.

☝️We demand that 🇺🇸 authorities stop the extremist activities of @Meta, take measures to bring the perpetrators to justice. Users of #Facebook & #Instagram did not give the owners of these platforms the right to determine the criteria of truth and pit nations against each other. https://t.co/1RkrjRmEtA pic.twitter.com/sTacSm4nDt

— Russian Embassy in USA 🇷🇺 (@RusEmbUSA) March 11, 2022

In response to the news, Russian Space Chief and avid pro-Putin memer Dmitry Rogozin posted a viral meme picturing Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey as Nazis, also changing his profile photo to a banner stating that “Russian Lives Matter.”

На совещании по организации ненависти к русскому народу. pic.twitter.com/DhnGpiomxZ

— РОГОЗИН (@Rogozin) March 11, 2022

pic.twitter.com/dUytMAxtX3

— РОГОЗИН (@Rogozin) March 11, 2022

Meta’s decision also came under criticism from people not associated with the Russian state and its ongoing war. In the West and elsewhere, users expressed anxiety about the level of power Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg exercise over global politics. That a private corporation and an unelected tech CEO would pick a side in a conflict between countries struck many as a disturbing precedent.

How utterly messed up is this. Zuckerberg decides which hate is "good hate" or what kind of hate speech is acceptable hate speech? Also, this is unfair to users who might use similar expressions against authoritarian leaders in their own countries & get their accounts suspended. https://t.co/UQZNFO7Sug

— Angshuman Choudhury (@angshuman_ch) March 11, 2022

Many users turned to the evergreen meme theme of Zuckerberg, his physical appearance and eccentricities. The Meta CEO has often been the butt of jokes online, and this latest controversy unleashed a new flood of criticism and mockery.

Nice try Mark Zuckerberg pic.twitter.com/tEmK85AgoB

— Risco (@jrisco) March 4, 2022

how does cgi luke skywalker look more like a real human than mark zuckerberg

— vye ⊹ anakin lovebot (@anihuggingpadme) March 11, 2022

Mark Zuckerberg would like the Big Mac Meal with a side of fries and a medium Hi-C Orange Juice. pic.twitter.com/NQvQqhBgwd

— Restaurant Manager Simulator (@McDManagerBot) March 11, 2022

Many journalists and lawyers, such as Kara Swisher, argue that in the absence of clear government policies or precedents, social media platforms are left to make decisions on their own about what to allow and what to prohibit, giving their boards an immense amount of power. Over the past few years, American social media companies like Meta and Twitter have taken a more active approach in censoring speech and users that advocate violence on their platforms, often (by their own confession) in response to public pressure in Western countries.

These changes arguably reflect the values and priorities of the professional classes in liberal Western democracies and align these companies with those governments and against rivals like Russia (which banned Meta a few days ago) and China (which has its own social media). In the years to come, social media platforms may become more entangled with global politics, further blurring the lines between the state, the internet and private enterprise.