Ukrainians protest at Facebook and Google offices in Dublin
Members of the ‘Ukrainians in Ireland’ group and Uplift Ireland staged a protest this morning outside the Dublin headquarters of Meta (Facebook) and Google (Alphabet).
The groups are asking for the social media companies to remove all Russian state backed propaganda from their platforms.
Protestors were calling on the employees to consider their role in this crisis, carried signs and had a mobile billboard reading ‘Stop Putin’s Lies, Save Ukrainian Lives.’ They also handed over an open letter signed by 4,650 people yesterday.
Michael Baskin, organiser, Ukrainians in Ireland, said: “Putin’s lies and hate speech are designed to cause confusion, break the Ukrainian spirit and distract the world from his bombing of civilians. It will cost lives. It breaks my heart to think of these offices, just a few miles from my home, acting as the European HQ for Russian propaganda. These companies must put the Ukrainian people before profit and remove these accounts immediately.”
“While Ireland plays host as the European HQ for these social media companies, we cannot let them transform Ireland into a home for hate,” said Siobhán O’ Donoghue, executive director, Uplift Ireland. “The Facebook offices in Ireland played a role in the negligence that facilitated the genocide of Rohingya Muslims, we cannot allow the same offices to be complicit in attacks on the Ukrainian people.
“While Facebook, Google and TikTok have made some moves to restrict or block Russian state-backed accounts in the EU, this protest is calling for the removal of all Russian state-run and Kremlin-affiliated accounts everywhere in the world. Social media knows no borders. Russian-state entities would be in clear breach of the platforms terms and conditions already.”
Artem Nedostup, who is Ukrainian and works in Dublin said: “Russian state controlled media has been pushing disinformation and hate for years. From anti vaccine conspiracies to hate and lies about different groups of people, undermining democracies all over the world. This may be too late but we need the social media and tech platforms to stop allowing them to share this propaganda, not just in Europe but across the world.”
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