Facebook and Instagram users not allowed to call for death of Putin

Facebook and Instagram users are not allowed to call for the death of Vladimir Putin, according to an update issued by their parent company.

Meta had issued new guidance on Friday allowing content that condoned the harm of Russian soldiers, with media reporting at the time that it also permitted content urging violence against the Russian president.

Reuters reported last week that calls for the death of Putin, and his Belarusian counterpart and ally Alexander Lukashenko, would be allowed on Meta platforms in a limited number of countries, unless they contained other targets or have two indicators of credibility, such as the location or method.

Despite the clarification, Russia took down the Instagram platform on Monday, cutting off 80 million users from the service. It banned Facebook on 4 March.

Meta has blocked content from the Russia state news services Russia Today and Sputnik in the UK, the EU and Ukraine, while YouTube is blocking access to Russian state media channels globally.