Facebook and Instagram owners will allow users in some countries to incite violence against Vladimir Putin and Russian soldiers.
Meta says it “temporarily” allowed some violent speeches like “death to the Russian invaders” that would normally go against its rules.
However, calls for violence against Russian civilians are not allowed.
The announcement came after Reuters news agency said it had seen internal emails outlining the policy change.
“As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have temporarily allowed forms of political expression that would normally break our rules,” a BBC meta spokesman said.
Under the changed policy, users in countries like Russia, Ukraine, and Poland can also call for the deaths of Russian President Putin and Belarusian President Lukashenko.
The emails reportedly said calls for the deaths of leaders were allowed unless they included other targets or a location or method.
Calls for violence against Russians are also allowed if the post clearly references the invasion of Ukraine, the emails said.
Russia last week announced it would block Facebook and its platforms, citing 26 cases of Facebook “discriminating” against Russian media since October 2020.
Although access to the site was already restricted in Russia, it was not completely inaccessible.
Moscow has cracked down on several social media platforms while conducting a so-called “special operation” in Ukraine.
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