The Facts
Russia’s financial monitoring agency, Rosfinmonitoring, has reportedly added Instagram and Facebook's parent company, Meta Platforms Inc, to its "terrorists and extremists" list.
This comes after Moscow banned Facebook and Instagram in March for alleged "extremist activities" following accusations by Russian authorities that the company tolerated "Russophobia" amid the Ukraine war.
The Spin
Pro-Russia narrative
Not only has Meta routinely censored narratives that oppose the West's stance, but the social media platform — which has been a loud advocate against hate speech — has also dangerously promoted "Russophobia." Meta has become a servant to the White House, and there's no room for its double standards in Russia.
Anti-Russia narrative
As Putin continues the war on Ukraine, free speech and the press environment in Russia have been almost entirely repressed. In an ironic, albeit unsurprising, turn of events, Moscow has now banned Meta after accusing the company of launching its own censorship agenda. By monitoring and suppressing social media, Russia will only continue its harsh crackdown on bringing media fully under state control.
Cynical narrative
Russia and the West are both pushing for unprecedented censorship in an attempt to win the ideas war. This is a dangerous violation of freedom of expression, a fundamental right of not only the speaker but also the audience. As history has shown time and again, nothing good comes of restricting speech, which only harms the society it purports to protect.
