LinkedIn has been blocking accounts posting about true crimes of Russian against Ukraine, as said by Ukrainian LinkedIn users. At the same time, the social media site supports posts of Russian propagandists sharing fake information and symbols equated to swastikas.
According to the Ukrainian users, LinkedIn blocks posts containing information about Russia’s aggression and links for making donations to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
LinkedIn says the reason for the blocking is a violation of the Terms of Service and asks users to verify their identity by sending a photo of their documents. It is important to note that after verification, LinkedIn urges banned users to admit their faults and agree to follow the rules in the future.
The users whose accounts were banned noted that the information they posted contained photos or stories related to atrocities committed by Russians in Ukraine. Taras Dumych, the Managing Partner of Wolf Theiss, sent a letter to the US Financial Times in which he described LinkedIn’s position in detail:
“In my LinkedIn posts, I have been focusing on the truth, although, that truth does not necessarily sound nice to Russians and those who support them. <…> However, it appears that LinkedIn was not happy with my activity. After a post, which featured a cartoon of a Ukrainian soldier cradling a baby, and a Russian conscript pillaging food off locals, LinkedIn decided to restrict my account completely, arguing that my behavior was in breach of their terms of service.”
At the same time, LinkedIn does not restrict Russian users from posting symbols called the new swastika now. According to other comments, the social media site does not support Ukraine’s integrity and welcomes Russian propaganda.
We have previously reported that Microsoft, which owns LinkedIn, announced that it would continue its business in Russia despite calls to boycott the aggressor country, which is committing genocide against peaceful Ukrainians. Now we can also see the company’s support of Russia in blocking Ukrainian users and their posts on the war.
