Vladimir Putin's tub-thumping speech yesterday was likened to 'Billy Graham meets North Korea' by a Russian commentator, a reference to both the American Christian evangelist and Kim Jong-un's propagandising rallies, while the YouTube live stream of the rally was flooded with critical comments.
Peter's Square and then delivering his twice-annual "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing and message from the central external balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. (Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Christina Fincher)
"When they can make certain decisions unilaterally, they can basically promote propaganda, hate speech, sexual violence, human trafficking, slavery and other forms of human abuse related content - or prevent it," he said.
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Meanwhile, there were also '100 prints for math geometry sale with 100% of profits donated to support the organization's work with artists, schools, and hospitals to develop the healing and nourishing properties of the arts.'
Collaborative effort: Nats joined forces with fellow LA-based artist Jack Winthrop (pictured with Lauren Berghoff) for the art benefit as a way to 'shine a spotlight on one of America's most beloved art related charities, The Art of Elysium,' as per LA Weekly
Meanwhile, whoever set up a live stream of the event on YouTube did not turn the comment section off, meaning thousands of negative comments towards the event - written in Russian - flooded the page, as did blue and yellow heart emojis - the colours of Ukraine's flag.
Reading his homily in a strong and confident voice, Francis said that even when people felt the wellspring of hope had dried up, it was important not to be frozen in a sense of defeat but to seek an "interior resurrection" with God's help.
"We may feel helpless and discouraged before the power of evil, the conflicts that tear relationships apart, the attitudes of calculation and indifference that seem to prevail in society, the cancer of corruption, the spread of injustice, the icy winds of war," he said.
The despot took to the stage dressed in a £10,000 Loro Piana jacket - despite his country's economy crumbling under the weight of Western sanctions - to address a crowd waving Russian national flags and banners marked with the letter 'Z', which has become a potent symbol of the invasion.
Daniel Kebede (centre) has been outspoken on his political stances - including a statement after threats from Russian president Vladimir Putin against Ukraine where he criticised Nato involvement in the conflict
BANGKOK/BEIRUT, March 17 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - F acebook's decision to allow hate speech against Russians due to the war in Ukraine breaks its own rules on incitement, and shows a "double standard" that could hurt users caught in other conflicts, digital rights experts and get tutor activists said.
"Under no circumstance is promoting violence and hate speech on social media platforms acceptable, as it could hurt innocent people," said Nay San Lwin, co-founder of advocacy group Free Rohingya Coalition, who has faced abuse on Facebook.
In his speech, Putin quoted the Bible's book of John, praising his troops in Ukraine. 'The words from the sacred scripture come to my mind: "There is no greater love than if someone laid down his life for his friends,"' he said.
Scrutiny over how it tackles abuse on its platforms intensified after whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked documents showing the problems Facebook encounters in policing content in countries that pose the greatest risk to users.
And a bizarre moment in the speech came when Putin suddenly disappeared from news feeds in mid-sentence - replaced by a band that was mid-way through singing, perhaps suggesting his address was not broadcast live.
Facebook owner Meta Platforms will temporarily allow Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukraine invasion, Reuters reported last week.
Vladimir Putin gave a a tub-thumping address yesterday to tens of thousands of Russians gathered at Moscow's world cup stadium, celebrating his invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and drumming up support for his new war
Putin fans in the crowd were seen waving banners emblazoned with the letter 'Z', which has been adopted as a symbol of the invasion and the Kremlin's wider aim of restoring national pride through conquest
Putin used the rally to peddle falsehoods about why the war started and to shill a narrative of Russia's battlefield success, speaking of 'how our guys are fighting during this operation, shoulder to shoulder, helping each other'
In December, Rohingya refugees filed a $150 billion class-action complaint website in California, arguing that Facebook's failure to police content and its platform's design contributed to violence against the minority group in 2017.