Russia Updates Most Wanted List to Include Meta Spokesperson

(AmericanProsperity.com) – According to a The Associated Press November 26 report, the Russian regime added the official spokesman for Facebook parent company Meta, Andy Stone, to its list of most-wanted people. The news agency said an online database curated by Russia’s interior minister showed Stone on the Kremlin’s list.

The independent news outlet Mediazona and Russia’s state-controlled news agency TASS were the first to report that the Meta spokesman was included. The news came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly called the tech company a “terrorist and extremist” organization.

The Associated Press pointed out that Russian citizens could now face criminal charges if Russian authorities found they were using Meta. However, the news agency mentioned that the Russian legislative branch hasn’t passed any legislation concerning the US tech company.

As reported by The Blaze, Meta first appeared in the Kremlin’s crosshairs after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, as Stone announced that the tech company would update its hate speech policy. The Meta spokesman said that the new rules would now allow different forms of political expression that would usually violate the platform’s rules, including calling for violent actions against “Russian invaders.” However, he also noted that Meta would still suspend every account that called for violence against Russian civilians.

In its report, Mediazona noted that a Russian court, which is controlled by the Kremlin, had already issued an arrest warrant for the Meta spokesman on charges of “facilitating terrorist acts.” The media outlet also revealed that the Kremlin could take similar steps against members of other social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, which are currently blocked in Russia.

The move against Stone took place a couple of hours after different reports revealed Russian audio recordings that were intercepted by Ukrainian forces on the ground. The recordings seem to suggest that Russian soldiers are “too tired” to keep fighting, as the war is about to enter its second winter, with hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides.