{"id":16855,"date":"2022-02-26T01:12:36","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T01:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/26\/how-protesters-in-russia-and-ukraine-are-staying-safe-online\/"},"modified":"2022-02-26T01:12:36","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T01:12:36","slug":"how-protesters-in-russia-and-ukraine-are-staying-safe-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/26\/how-protesters-in-russia-and-ukraine-are-staying-safe-online\/","title":{"rendered":"How protesters in Russia and Ukraine are staying safe online"},"content":{"rendered":"

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On Thursday night, the human rights activist Marina Litinovich posted a video to her Facebook account calling for her fellow Russians to protest the country\u2019s invasion of its neighbor to the west. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know that right now many of you feel desperation, helplessness, shame over Vladimir Putin\u2019s attack on the friendly nation of Ukraine,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I urge you not to despair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within hours, Litinovich was in custody<\/a>, facing a fine for \u201can attempt to organize an unsanctioned rally.\u201d <\/p>\n

As Russia cracks down on antiwar protests, those voicing dissent on the ground and in online spaces face heightened danger. <\/p>\n

Hundreds of protesters have been rounded up <\/a>in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Human rights advocates have warned<\/a> that those authoring critical posts on social media in the region would face a new wave of repression, including detention and other legal ramifications.<\/p>\n

Some social media users have improvised ways of communicating in an attempt to circumvent censorship or arrest. In one instance, an Instagram user posted an image with no clear discernible meaning \u2014 rows of man-walking emojis, a sketched profile of a woman\u2019s head, and the number seven \u2014 to indicate the time and place of a protest<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the social media companies have taken measures to address threats to their users in those regions. <\/p>\n

In response to news of the escalating conflict Wednesday night, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, established a \u201cSpecial Operations Center\u201d to monitor and quickly respond to the military conflict, and launched a tool in Ukraine allowing people to lock their profile quickly with one click. The tool provides an extra layer of privacy to prevent users who aren\u2019t their friends from viewing their posts or downloading or sharing their profile photo, according to Nathaniel Gleicher, head of security policy at Facebook, who described the company\u2019s response to the crisis in a series of posts<\/a> on Twitter. <\/p>\n

Facebook previously launched the one-click tool in Afghanistan in August, informed by feedback from activists and journalists. It has also previously deployed the tool in Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Myanmar, according to the company.<\/p>\n

Twitter posted a guide<\/a> to shoring up security, warning that while using its platform \u201cin conflict zones or other high-risk areas, it\u2019s important to be aware of how to control your account and digital information.\u201d The company advised setting up two-factor authentication (a safeguard against password hacking), disabling location info from showing on tweets, adjusting privacy settings to make tweets visible only to one\u2019s followers, or deactivating one\u2019s account if that feels like the safest option.<\/p>\n

Sophie Zhang, a former data scientist at Facebook, said that while a quick and easy tool to lock accounts was useful, earlier and stronger measures by social media companies might have slowed Putin\u2019s march toward regional domination. A lack of aggressive response to earlier \u201chorrendous repression\u201d in Belarus \u2014 including the use of people\u2019s activity on Facebook <\/a>to make arrests \u2014 reflects a broader issue with how social media companies navigate human rights issues, she said.<\/p>\n

Zhang has criticized Facebook\u2019s reaction to global political conflict in the past. She described in a lengthy memo published by BuzzFeed in 2020 <\/a>how the company failed to address or curb disinformation campaigns by politicians in numerous countries abusing the platform to influence elections and gain power. <\/p>\n

Twitter spokesperson Katie Rosborough said in email that in line with its response to other global events, the company\u2019s safety and integrity teams are monitoring for potential risks, including identifying and disrupting attempts to amplify false and misleading information and looking to \u201cadvance the speed and scale\u201d of its policy enforcement. <\/p>\n

\u201cTwitter\u2019s top priority is keeping people safe, and we have longstanding efforts to improve the safety of our service,\u201d Rosborough said.<\/p>\n

Facebook is actively removing content that violates its policies and working with third-party fact checkers in the region to debunk false claims, spokesperson Dani Lever said in an emailed statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they rate something as false, we move this content lower in Feed so fewer people see it,\u201d Lever said. \u201cWe\u2019re also giving people more information to decide what to read, trust, and share by adding warning labels on content rated false, and applying labels to state-controlled media publishers.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday, the Russian government said it would partially limit access to Facebook in response to the company\u2019s treatment of some pro-Kremlin news media accounts, several news outlets reported.<\/a> Nick Clegg, Meta\u2019s president of global affairs, said in a statement the move came after \u201cRussian authorities ordered us to stop the independent fact-checking and labeling of content posted on Facebook\u201d by the four outlets and the company refused.<\/p>\n

Though Twitter and Facebook representatives said the companies are paying close attention to emerging disinformation threats, their response hasn\u2019t been free of missteps. <\/p>\n

Twitter erroneously suspended the accounts<\/a> of independent reporters and researchers posting information about the activities of Russian forces near the Ukrainian border. <\/p>\n

Rosborough said in an email that while the company been monitoring for \u201cemerging narratives\u201d that violate the platform\u2019s rules on manipulated media, \u201cin this instance, we took enforcement action on a number of accounts in error. We\u2019re expeditiously reviewing these actions and have already proactively reinstated access to a number of affected accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the affected users accused the Russian state of coordinating a bot campaign to mass report their accounts to Twitter, resulting in the action taken against their accounts, but Rosborough said those claims were inaccurate.<\/p>\n

Even as social media companies release tools to improve safety and security for their users in conflict areas, the same companies have given in to pressure from Russia over the last year, taking down posts in support of political opponents to the current regime.<\/p>\n

Meta, which owns Instagram and WhatsApp as well as Facebook, acknowledged<\/a> in its most recent transparency report that it does sometimes delete content in response to requests by Russian authorities, removing about 1,800 pieces of content \u201cfor allegedly violating local laws\u201d on Facebook or Instagram in the first half of 2021. Of the removed content, 871 were items \u201crelated to extremism,\u201d according to the report. Meta did not immediately respond to emailed questions about the removed posts. <\/p>\n

A December report by the BBC<\/a> found that Russia\u2019s media regulator Roskomnadzor had launched more than 60 lawsuits against Google, Facebook Instagram and Twitter last year, targeting hundreds of posts. The majority of court proceedings aimed to take action against calls to attend demonstrations in support of jailed political leader Alexei Navalny, who opposes Putin. Meta faces potentially severe fines due to higher penalties Russia imposed last year for failure to delete illegal content, according to the BBC.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n