Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Mikey Smith

Facebook bans Russian state-owned media from advertising on social network

Facebook has banned Russian state media from advertising on its platform.

Following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the firm's head of security Nathaniel Gleicher confirmed Russian state outlets will not be allowed to advertise or monetise on the social network anywhere in the world.

He said: "We also continue to apply labels to additional Russian state media.

"These changes have already begun rolling out and will continue into the weekend."

Mr Gleicher added Facebook was "closely monitoring" the situation in Ukraine and would "keep sharing steps we're taking to protect people on our platform".

Former deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs at Facebook's parent company Meta, shared Mr Gleicher's post with the caption: "We are taking additional steps in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine".

Earlier, Sir Nick said Russia had limited access to Facebook after the social media provider refused to stop fact-checking and labelling content from state-owned organisations.

Mark Zuckerberg with former deputy PM Nick Clegg (PA)

Russian authorities announced the "partial restriction" when Facebook limited the accounts of several Kremlin-backed outlets over the invasion of Ukraine.

Russian state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said it had demanded that Facebook lifts the restrictions it placed on Thursday on state news agency RIA Novosti, state TV channel Zvezda, and pro-Kremlin news sites Lenta.Ru and Gazeta.Ru.

Sir Nick said that "ordinary Russians are using our apps to express themselves and organise for action" and the company wants "them to continue to make their voices heard".

Meta has drawn up rules to deal with transparency around state-controlled media outlets because it believes people should know if the news they read is coming from a publication that may be under the influence of a government.

Adverts and posts from state-controlled media outlets on Facebook and Instagram are labelled prominently.

Labels are also put on various sections of the social media pages including on the Instagram profiles, the "About this Account" section of Instagram accounts and the transparency section of their Facebook page.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.