Facebook Slammed for Spreading Vladimir Putin’s Propaganda in NATO’s East
A flood of posts pushing misinformation in Slovakia is putting the spotlight on Facebook for facilitating the spread of pro-Russian theories on the war in neighboring Ukraine, ranging from claims that Kyiv is secretly developing biological weapons to questioning whether President Vladimir Putin’s invasion even happened at all.
While Facebook owner Meta Platforms said it’s taking “extensive steps to fight the spread of misinformation” in the NATO and European Union member, Slovakia’s government, other former Eastern Bloc countries, and even US lawmakers say the company isn’t doing enough.
The dispute took center stage this week when members of the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence called out Meta and its chief executive officer, Mark Zuckerberg, for facilitating the dangerous spread of pro-Russia disinformation in the country of 5.3 million.
According to the GLOBSEC security think tank, the intensity of false messages is worse here than anywhere else in ex-communist central Europe. That has buoyed support for Putin, with more than a quarter of Slovaks saying they back his actions, even as the administration in Bratislava tries to shelter the refugees and send weapons to Kyiv to aid in its defense.
“The Committee is deeply concerned by the continued presence of harmful disinformation and pro-Russian propaganda on Slovak Facebook,” the US delegation led by Chairman Adam Schiff wrote in a letter to Zuckerberg. They urged Meta “immediately to ensure that all pro-Russian disinformation is quickly evaluated, fact-checked, and labeled, downranked, or removed in accordance with Facebook’s public pledges and stated policies.”
The committee said that the US and Slovak governments had repeatedly asked Meta to take
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