Facebook allows praise of neo-Nazi Ukrainian battalion if it fights Russian invasion

[K Ghoul]

"Facebook will temporarily allow its billions of users to praise the Azov Battalion, a Ukrainian neo-Nazi military unit previously banned from being freely discussed under the company’s Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy, The Intercept has learned.

The policy shift, made this week, is pegged to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and preceding military escalations. The Azov Battalion, which functions as an armed wing of the broader Ukrainian white nationalist Azov movement, began as a volunteer anti-Russia militia before formally joining the Ukrainian National Guard in 2014; the regiment is known for its hardcore right-wing ultranationalism and the neo-Nazi ideology pervasive among its members. Though it has in recent years downplayed its neo-Nazi sympathies, the group’s affinities are not subtle: Azov soldiers march and train wearing uniforms bearing icons of the Third Reich; its leadership has reportedly courted American alt-right and neo-Nazi elements; and in 2010, the battalion’s first commander and a former Ukrainian parliamentarian, Andriy Biletsky, stated that Ukraine’s national purpose was to “lead the white races of the world in a final crusade … against Semite-led Untermenschen [subhumans].” With Russian forces reportedly moving rapidly against targets throughout Ukraine, Facebook’s blunt, list-based approach to moderation puts the company in a bind: What happens when a group you’ve deemed too dangerous to freely discuss is defending its country against a full-scale assault?

According to internal policy materials reviewed by The Intercept, Facebook will “allow praise of the Azov Battalion when explicitly and exclusively praising their role in defending Ukraine OR their role as part of the Ukraine’s National Guard.” Internally published examples of speech that Facebook now deems acceptable include “Azov movement volunteers are real heroes, they are a much needed support to our national guard”; “We are under attack. Azov has been courageously defending our town for the last 6 hours”; and “I think Azov is playing a patriotic role during this crisis.”

The materials stipulate that Azov still can’t use Facebook platforms for recruiting purposes or for publishing its own statements and that the regiment’s uniforms and banners will remain as banned hate symbol imagery, even while Azov soldiers may fight wearing and displaying them. In a tacit acknowledgement of the group’s ideology, the memo provides two examples of posts that would not be allowed under the new policy: “Goebbels, the Fuhrer and Azov, all are great models for national sacrifices and heroism” and “Well done Azov for protecting Ukraine and it’s white nationalist heritage.”

In a statement to The Intercept, company spokesperson Erica Sackin confirmed the decision but declined to answer questions about the new policy.

Azov’s formal Facebook ban began in 2019, and the regiment, along with several associated individuals like Biletsky, were designated under the company’s prohibition against hate groups, subject to its harshest “Tier 1” restrictions that bar users from engaging in “praise, support, or representation” of blacklisted entities across the company’s platforms. Facebook’s previously secret roster of banned groups and persons, published by The Intercept last year, categorized the Azov Battalion alongside the likes of the Islamic State and the Ku Klux Klan, all Tier 1 groups because of their propensity for “serious offline harms” and “violence against civilians.” Indeed, a 2016 report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights found that Azov soldiers had raped and tortured civilians during Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine.

The exemption will no doubt create confusion for Facebook’s moderators, tasked with interpreting the company’s muddled and at time contradictory censorship rules under exhausting conditions. While Facebook users may now praise any future battlefield action by Azov soldiers against Russia, the new policy notes that “any praise of violence” committed by the group is still forbidden; it’s unclear what sort of nonviolent warfare the company anticipates.

Facebook’s new stance on Azov is “nonsensical” in the context of its prohibitions against offline violence, said Dia Kayyali, a researcher specializing in the real-world effects of content moderation at the nonprofit Mnemonic. “It’s typical Facebook,” Kayyali added, noting that while the exemption will permit ordinary Ukrainians to more freely discuss a catastrophe unfolding around them that might otherwise be censored, the fact that such policy tweaks are necessary reflects the dysfunctional state of Facebook’s secret blacklist-based Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy. “Their assessments of what is a dangerous organization should always be contextual; there shouldn’t be some special carveout for a group that would otherwise fit the policy just because of a specific moment in time. They should have that level of analysis all the time.”

Though the change may come as welcome news to critics who say that the sprawling, largely secret Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy can stifle online free expression, it also offers further evidence that Facebook determines what speech is permissible based on the foreign policy judgments of the United States. Last summer, for instance, Motherboard reported that Facebook similarly carved out an exception to its censorship policies in Iran, temporarily allowing users to post “Death to Khamenei” for a two-week period. “I do think it is a direct response to U.S. foreign policy,” Kayyali said of the Azov exemption. “That has always been how the … list works.”

Source:

https://theintercept.com/2022/02/24/ukraine-facebook-azov-battalion-russia/

 

Note: Check with Leo first if Actualized.org supports this idea before you start posting images of symbols that resemble black swastika on a yellow background.

 

Edited February 25, 2022 by K Ghoul

[Arcangelo]

Guess they need all the help they can get...

[Leo Gura]

Stop with these all-caps titles. If you guys keep posting in all-caps I'm gonna start locking your threads.

Edit your thread to remove the all-caps.

[Thought Art]

Lots of different people in the world 

[BlueOak]

In war countries move to the right. Always.

[K Ghoul]

19 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Stop with these all-caps titles. If you guys keep posting in all-caps I'm gonna start locking your threads.

Edit your thread to remove the all-caps.

Sorry, didn't know it wasn't allowed so I just copy-pasted. It's not letting me modify it. Could you edit it? Here's the updated title:

Facebook allows praise of neo-Nazi Ukrainian battalion if it fights Russian invasion 

[K Ghoul]

@Leo Gura Title updated 

[Yarco]

14 minutes ago, hello1234 said:

THERE ARE NO NEO NAZIS IN UKRAINE. STOP SPREADING RUSSIAN PROPAGNDA!

You're actively spreading misinformation now, Azov Battalion exists.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion

Whether an all-volunteer arm of the National Guard counts as part of Ukraine's official army is up for debate. Azov also likely only contains about 1,000 people, you could argue if that's material to the overall conflict or not. But saying there are no neo-nazis in Ukraine is simply false.

Edited February 25, 2022 by Yarco

[hello1234]

4 hours ago, Yarco said:

You're actively spreading misinformation now, Azov Battalion exists.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion

Whether an all-volunteer arm of the National Guard counts as part of Ukraine's official army is up for debate. Azov also likely only contains about 1,000 people. But saying there are no neo-nazis in Ukraine is simply false.

The Ukrainain nazi propaganda is the narrative putin is spreading, the pretense he’s been giving as to why he is invading Ukraine, it’s a toxic classic pro-russian garbage propaganda. 
 

This russian troll here is eager to write anything anti Ukrainain. The troll can’t write anything directly, so it’s looking for anything subtle but yet still spread her pro-russian msg. Like I said, she is sneaky and cunning.

Edited February 26, 2022 by hello1234

[Yarco]

3 minutes ago, hello1234 said:

The Ukrainain nazi propaganda is the narrative putin is spreading, the pretense he’s been giving as to why he is invading Ukraine, it’s toxic classic pro-russian garbage

Forget the walls of text for a moment. Are you claiming that a right-wing extremist, neo-nazi Ukrainian National Guard unit called Azov Battalion does not exist?

You realize that for that to be true, Putin would've had to infiltrate or pressure dozens of different news organizations in US, Canada, UK to spread his misinformation. 

Do you think the entire western world has been deceived into thinking Azov Battalion exists when it's all a lie made up by Putin?

[hello1234]

17 minutes ago, Yarco said:

You're actively spreading misinformation now, Azov Battalion exists.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion

Whether an all-volunteer arm of the National Guard counts as part of Ukraine's official army is up for debate. Azov also likely only contains about 1,000 people. But saying there are no neo-nazis in Ukraine is simply false.

I am saying it’s not “neo-NAZI”, I am saying putin and his flying monkeys are using those NAZI terms on purpose! The pretense under which he invaded Ukraine was to “deNazify” it.

Edited February 26, 2022 by hello1234

[K Ghoul]

33 minutes ago, hello1234 said:

I am saying it’s not “neo-NAZI”, I am saying putin and his flying monkeys are using those NAZI terms on purpose! The pretense under which he invaded Ukraine was to “deNazify” it.

Do you distinguish between the terms neo-NAZI and National Socialist, or you use those terms interchangeably? This needs to be clarified. 

What are your thoughts on Alexey Levkin? Here's a bit of a background info in case you are not familiar with who he is:

 

"In Ukraine, tickets for WSE (white supremacist extremists) concerts are available for purchase by the public, vetting of attendees is often not required, and the venues are large, with some hosting up to 1,500 people.  One of the most notable NSBM concerts, the Asgardsrei festival, occurs every December in Kyiv. The 2019 Asgardsrei festival hosted NSBM bands from across Europe and beyond, including Goatmoon from Finland, M8L8TH from Russia, and Evil from Brazil. A total of 15 bands from eight different countries performed. Asgardsrei was originally founded in Russia by Russian WSE Alexey Levkin, who moved to Ukraine to fight with the Azov Battalion and brought the festival with him. Asgardsrei now plays a large role in the broader Azov movement’s publicity efforts. In addition to Asgardsrei, Kyiv also hosts Fortress Europe at the same venue as Asgardsrei."

 

Source:

https://www.congress.gov/117/meeting/house/111244/witnesses/HHRG-117-BA10-Wstate-Gartenstein-RossD-20210225.pdf

 

 

[hello1234]

@K Ghoul I am more interested why in all the topics regarding Ukraine you chose the one to “portray” Ukrainians as Nazis? And make it a separate thread? And had to put it in all caps in your title even? And don’t bullshit me with covering all sides of the story.

Edited February 26, 2022 by hello1234

[K Ghoul]

@hello1234 The title of the article "Facebook allows praise of neo-Nazi Ukrainian battalion if it fights Russian invasion" wasn't my choice - I copy-pasted it from the original source -  https://theintercept.com/2022/02/24/ukraine-facebook-azov-battalion-russia/

Neither it was Putin's choice to call Azov Battalion neo-Nazis - that's pretty much international consensus to use this terminology on them.  

 

If you could now address the questions that I presented earlier, that would be helpful for the discussion. 

[hello1234]

3 minutes ago, K Ghoul said:

@hello1234 The title of the article "Facebook allows praise of neo-Nazi Ukrainian battalion if it fights Russian invasion" wasn't my choice - I copy-pasted it from the original source -  https://theintercept.com/2022/02/24/ukraine-facebook-azov-battalion-russia/

Neither it was Putin's choice to call Azov Battalion neo-Nazis - that's pretty much international consensus to use this terminology on them.  

Why did you make it into a separate threat? What important message did you want people to see here? 

Edited February 26, 2022 by hello1234

[K Ghoul]

6 minutes ago, hello1234 said:

@K Ghoul  And had to put it in all caps in your title even?

That was me being lazy. As I have already explained 

[hello1234]

4 hours ago, K Ghoul said:

That was me being lazy. As I have already explained 

Why out of all topics to cover the situation in Ukraine you decided to post this?
 

What important message about the war in Ukraine are you trying to convey here? 

Edited February 26, 2022 by hello1234

[K Ghoul]

3 minutes ago, K Ghoul said:

If you could now address the questions that I presented earlier, that would be helpful for the discussion. 

@K Ghoul Please see below: 

Do you distinguish between the terms neo-NAZI and National Socialist, or you use those terms interchangeably? This needs to be clarified. 

What are your thoughts on Alexey Levkin? 

[hello1234]

3 minutes ago, hello1234 said:

Why out of all topics to cover the situation in Ukraine you decided to post this? What important message about the war in Ukraine are you trying to convey here? 

Please see above.

[Arcangelo]

How come you are still here after talking like that?

MODS!