An open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook shareholders and senior managers

Dear Mr Zuckerberg, dear Facebook shareholders and senior managers,

I am a Russian language Facebook user. My account was initially created for keeping me in touch with my British friends and colleagues. But since 2014, after the Russian troops invaded the Ukrainian Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, it became politicised, sharply critical to Putin, his regime and his aggressive policy.

My posts on other websites underwent fierce attacks by pro-Putin trolls. Publishing on the largest American social network, actually at the territory of the leading country of the Free World, I was confident in my safety and protection from the Kremlin bots and their FSB supervisors.

Alas! I was totally wrong.

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On June 29 a Russian Facebook moderator removed my post allegedly as violating the Community Standards and blocked my account for a month. As my post fully complied to the rules, no reason for the ban was specified. A screenshot is attached and translated in description, and I really appreciate if you could show me what exactly has been violated and how.

To all whom it may concern and who requests my friendship! (I know, you understand Ukrainian and hence, you will read it easily.) Please read it carefully until you finish it and then think twice whether I need such “friends” or not… :) GLORY TO UKRAINE! (What should you reply? Type your answer in the comments.))))

This is the third one-month ban that I’ve got just few days after the previous one has expired. As in this case, posts with no violation were deleted, twice of these three times the moderator didn’t manage to give any reason for doing so. In total, within the last three and a half months my account was available for communication for less than two weeks. It is absolutely clear that pro-Kremlin trolls and the Russian Facebook moderators collaborating with them are trying to shut me up.

My appeal emailed privately to your Content Policy managers had no result, and thus now I turn to you with this open letter. Its copies have also been sent to leading American media.

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It wasn’t the first time when Russian moderators arbitrarily remove posts with no violation and ban users whose only offence is opposition to Putin’s regime and criticism of the Russian dictator, his aggressive foreign policy (including aggression against Ukraine and participation in Syrian war) and a corrupt and repressive Russian political system which has all major attributes of fascism (it is authoritarian, it is corporatist, it is statist, it is chauvinistic, it is anti-democratic and anti-liberal, it is aggressive and militaristic).

In 2016 many Russian, Ukrainian and American users tried to call your attention to the obvious political bias of the Russian moderators. Unfortunately, no action has been undertaken and the problem hasn’t been solved; moreover, it became even more acute. Bans became much more frequent, with no reason at all and for posts complying to the rules. On the other hand, moderators have totally stopped reacting on reports regarding violations, even flat, by pro-Kremlin trolls, they simply decline them (many facts confirming it can be emailed to you if necessary).

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Today, after the numerous facts of Russian cyberattacks became widely known, it is absolutely clear that Putin’s regime unleashed a cyberwar against the West as a whole and against the United States in particular. Putin’s strategists believe that taking control over the social media has an important role in this war.

Long since the Russian government turned Russian social networks into the instrument for political repressions against people malcontent to Putin’s kleptocracy. VK, the largest Russian network, as well as other popular Russian websites, is totally controlled by the FSB (which is a direct successor and a full analogue of the Soviet KGB, both in its duties and in spirit). Dozens of Russian social media users have been prisoned for allegedly “extremist” publications criticising Putin’s regime and aggressive policy of Russian fascism.

In this regard no wonder why both Russian opposition and the Ukrainians consider Western social media as resources for free information exchange and criticism of Putin’s regime. That is why significant efforts of the Russian secret police are aimed for taking control over Facebook as the world’s largest and most powerful social network – at least over its Russian and Ukrainian segments.

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It is commonly known that the Russian moderator team was brought to Facebook by Alisher Usmanov, one of the most powerful and odious persons of Putin’s kleptocracy. His Mail.ru Group holds about 10% share of your company. In 2014, soon after Putin unleashed an aggressive war against Ukraine, Mail.ru Group totally condoned by the Russian government performed a raider seizure of VK, the most popular Russian social network. Pavel Durov, a VK founder and major shareholder, was forced to sell his share which then was purchased by Mail.ru Group via the third party. Since then VK became an instrument for identification and political prosecution of the Russians disloyal to Putin’s regime.

The core team of Facebook Russian staff was formed with the above-mentioned Mail.ru Group moderators. Yet in the beginning of 2000s, soon after Putin came to power, this team had started a massive campaign of baiting the malcontent users and suppression of any form of disloyalty to Putin's regime at their website, the most popular in Russia at that time. Posts criticising the dictator were removed, disloyal users were banned, popular anti-Putin communities were shut. Meanwhile the most favourable treatment was provided to pro-Kremlin trolls who acquired a total immunity even in case of clear and intentional violations of the rules (insults, threats, hate speech, etc.).

Nowadays, the same team is looking after both Russian and Ukrainian segments of Facebook. They use exactly the same tactics as they did before, they delete anti-Putin posts and decline reports against the FSB trolls. With that, users have no opportunity to appeal against the arbitrariness and bias of moderators, they are completely unprotected.

Therefore, the actual activity of Facebook Russian staff is aimed not for impartial maintaining a free and friendly atmosphere for all users but for blocking any sort of criticism against Putin’s regime, for combating disloyal users and for the full support of pro-Putin trolls who pursue the informative war against the West. It seems to be completely counter both to basic values of the free world and to values of your company declared in your mission: giving people the power to share and making the world more open and connected.

As actions by the Russian moderators face no counteraction by the company management, your pro-Putin employees become more and more insolent and confident in their impunity every day. Today one can certainly affirm that A SIGNIFICANT SEGMENT OF THE LEADING AMERICAN SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANY IS CONTROLLED BY THE FASCIST REGIME HOSTILE TO THE UNITED STATES.

Would the Americans find it acceptable if they knew it? I guess they would not.

* * *

The Russian-speaking audience of Facebook is not as large as, for example, the North American or the European, and it is not fully composed of people malcontent to Putin’s regime. Perhaps the issue I am talking about may seem insignificant to you, not deserving your attention. Your business is running well, the revenue is coming in, and everything seems to be fine.

At the same time, political bias and arbitrariness that rule the Russian and the Ukrainian Facebook today are directed specifically against the same people as yourselves, against those who share the same values of freedom and democracy. 

Fighting for these values, we the Russians risk our personal freedom. Hundreds of us are prisoned and tortured by the FSB thugs. The best of us like Boris Nemtsov have been assassinated by fascists. And the Ukrainian people EVERY DAY sacrifice lives of their heroes, the best of their nation’s sons and daughters fighting against the Russian invaders.

DEAR Mr ZUCKERBERG, IF COLLABORATION WITH REPRESSIVE REGIMES HOSTILE TO THE USA IS A PART OF FACEBOOK POLICY, THEN WE ALL AT LEAST DESERVE TO BE OFFICIALLY INFORMED ABOUT IT. OTHERWISE PLEASE PROTECT US ON YOUR WEBSITE. To paraphrase famous words by pastor Niemöller, once you allow the KGB kleptocrats to kill our freedom, next time they will come for yours, and no one will stand for you.

You can easily protect your users. In turn, we are open for any form of collaboration with you, staring from specific and reasonable proposals regarding the improvement of your Russian moderator team performance and to direct participation in this process.

Thank you very much for your kind attention and help.

Respectfully yours,
Andrew Capstick,
Russian language Facebook user
https://www.facebook.com/capstick65/
on behalf of many thousand others, both the Russians and the Ukrainians

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P.S. For your intelligence, although it is not about your website. The problem does exist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZwAVsAgsLQ