Facebook blocks Ukrainian media and tolerates Russian trolls

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Facebook has made it difficult for Ukrainians to obtain reliable information about the course of the war. At the same time, Russian activists, skilfully manipulating the artificial intelligence systems responsible for moderation on the platform, are pushing pro-Russian content, notes the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

According to a study by the "Foundation for Media Development" quoted by the "FAZ" on Friday, of the 59 Ukrainian websites surveyed that report on the war, as many as 27 are restricted by Facebook and cannot reach their target audience.

"This applies mainly to regional and local media, which reach about half of their audiences through Facebook," Andriy Boborykin, one of the co-authors of the study and general director of the Ukrainska Pravda portal, said.

Some only found out about the restrictions a few months later, after seeing a significant drop in the number of users.

"FAZ" recalls, citing the Statista portal, that Facebook is the most used social network in Ukraine, holding 60 percent of the overall social media share. According to Global Logic, 15.45 million Ukrainians are registered on Facebook, accounting for 58 percent of all Ukrainian internet users.

(PAP)