Since February 26th, 2023, Russian (1,2) and Ukrainian-language Facebook accounts have been disseminating the claim that Twitter had banned unverified users from using the Ukrainian flag symbol. The posts were accompanied by a screenshot of a Twitter post by the Ukrainian Twitter page Walter Report, which shows a request sent to the page by the Twitter administration to remove the Ukrainian flag symbol.
The claim that Twitter is asking users to remove the symbol of Ukraine from their name originates from a satirical post and is false.
On February 26th, 2023, the Twitter account Walter Report, which regularly publishes information about the ongoing processes in Ukraine, did indeed publish a similar Twitter post. The post itself contains a screenshot in which we see the Twitter logo and an English-language letter written to the page. According to the letter, by February 28th, 2023, the page must remove the Ukrainian flag symbol from its profile, since only subscribers to “Twitter Blue” (Twitter’s premium subscription service that gives users access to various features) can openly support Ukraine.
The letter also explained that the use of this flag is considered an anti-Russian statement, and as a neutral platform, Twitter should moderate any political bias.
The content of the post caused confusion among the users, as satirical posts are usually not published on this page. Later, the page Walter Report explained in the comments of the same post that the disseminated information did not correspond to reality and called it a “fake meme”.
In the comments section of the page, we read that Elon Musk’s behaviour and Twitter posts speak louder than “fake memes,” and they bring real consequences for Ukraine. In addition, according to the author of the post, the real threat to democracy is Musk echoing the Russian propaganda of his far-right besties.
The mentioned claim was also verified by AFP. Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, confirmed to the outlet that there is no such type of restriction.
About the Source:
The anonymous Russian-language Facebook account Liora Lana regularly publishes false and manipulative claims of anti-Western content, as well as fake photos. This year, “Myth Detector” verified the fabricated covers of two Western publications, a fake Twitter post ascribed to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and fake documents made on behalf of the ambassadors of Ukraine to Lithuania and Latvia disseminated by this very user. Read more in our articles:
- Fabricated Covers Disseminated in the Name of Polish and German Outlets
- STOPFAKE: The Claim that Ukraine has Asked EU Countries to Deport Conscripts in Hiding is Disinformation
- Fabricated Quote in the Name of Zelenskyy about Turkey
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