Russia Adds Meta Spokesperson to Criminal Wanted List

Facts

• Russia's state-run TASS news agency stated on Sunday that the Ministry of Interior has put Andy Stone, the spokesman for Facebook owner Meta, on the federal wanted list under an undisclosed article of the Russian Criminal Code.¹
• This comes as independent Russian news outlet Mediazone reported that a Russian court ordered his arrest in absentia in mid-November on terrorism charges. The communications director for the US-based tech giant has been wanted since February.²
• The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal investigation into Meta last March, claiming it has incited violence against Russians since the Kremlin moved its troops into Ukraine as Meta changed its hate speech policy to allow violent calls such as 'death to the Russian invaders.'³
• Moscow officially designated the tech giant as a 'terrorist and extremist' organization following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine last year, allowing legal proceedings against its users in Russia.⁴
• Western social media platforms, including Meta-owned Instagram — which remains widely popular with young Russians — and Facebook, have only been accessible through virtual private networks (VPNs) in the country.⁵
• The Kremlin reportedly plans to block a number of VPNs as part of new media restrictions that Russia's Vladimir Putin approved earlier this month ahead of next year's presidential election.⁶

Sources: ¹TASS, ²Business Insider, ³FOX News, ⁴Politico, ⁵The Moscow Times and ⁶Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by RT. Given that Meta has relaxed its rules to allow Russophobia as well as illegal calls for murder and violence against Russians in its social media platforms, it's no wonder that Andy Stone has been placed on a wanted list. The tech conglomerate has violated at least two articles of the Russian Criminal Code related to public calls for extremist activities and assisting in terrorist activities.
• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by Axios. The outrageous and senseless decision to put Andy Stone on a wanted list stems from the fact that Meta has successfully cracked down on Russian state-sponsored disinformation campaigns on its platforms since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine. Moscow is desperately trying to retaliate against those who obstruct its nefarious intentions.

Predictions