On Thursday night, human rights activist Marina Litinovich posted a video to her Facebook account calling for her fellow Russians to protest the country’s invasion of its neighbor to the west.
“I know that right now many of you feel desperation, helplessness, shame over Vladimir Putin’s attack on the friendly nation of Ukraine,” she said. “But I urge you not to despair.”
Within hours, Litinovich was in custody, facing a fine for “an attempt to organize an unsanctioned rally.”
As Russia cracks down on antiwar protests, those voicing dissent on the ground and in online spaces face heightened danger.
Hundreds of protesters have been rounded up in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Human rights advocates have warned that those authoring critical posts on social media in the region would face a new wave of repression, including detention and other legal ramifications.
Some social media users have improvised ways of communicating in an attempt to avoid censorship or arrest. In one instance, an Instagram user posted an image with no clear discernible meaning — rows of man-walking emojis, a sketched profile of a woman’s head, and the number seven — to indicate the time and place of a protest.
Meanwhile, the social media companies have taken measures to address threats to their users in those regions.
In response to news of the escalating conflict Wednesday night, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, established a “Special Operations Center” to monitor and quickly respond to the military...
We respect your privacy Telewizja Polska S.A. w likwidacji processes your personal data collected when you visit individual websites on the tvp.pl Portal (hereinafter referred to as the Portal), i...