Facebook Removes Russian Government Content That Calls Children's Hospital Bombing In Ukraine A Hoax

JAKARTA – Facebook on Wednesday, March 16 removed an official post by the Russian government claiming that reports about the bombing of their troops at a children's hospital in Ukraine were hoaxes. This statement was made by a Facebook spokesperson when a similar message appeared on other social media platforms.

Social media watchdog from Israel found misinformation, on Twitter, Facebook, and Telegram accounts appearing from the Russian Embassy. This information came after Twitter Inc and Facebook, from Meta Platform Inc., removed posts from the Russian Embassy in the UK for violating their rules on denial of violence.

A survey by the watchdog, FakeReporter, and verified by Reuters showed that the post was still circulating on at least 18 Twitter, Facebook and Telegram accounts of the Russian Embassy or their ministry.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed that Facebook had removed the post after Reuters contacted them on Wednesday morning. Twitter and Telegram did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters on the matter.

The Russian Embassies in Costa Rica, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, and Tunisia did not immediately respond to requests for comment about their posts on Facebook.

"At least three people including a child were killed in a March 9 airstrike on a maternity and children's hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Russia has changed its stance on the hospital bombing, with a mix of statements on Thursday diverging between aggressive denials and calls by the Kremlin to establish clear facts. The Russian Defense Ministry at the time denied bombing the hospital. Instead, they accused Ukraine of orchestrating the incident.

A post on Russia's official social media accounts claimed that the bombing report was a hoax.

Moscow has been cracking down on technology platforms during the invasion of Ukraine, which it calls "special operations", including restricting the use of Twitter and blocking Facebook in the country.

Twitter has also launched a privacy-protected version of the site, known as the "onion service", which is accessible via the dark web and can bypass the restrictions in Russia.

In addition to the children's hospital, Russian troops, as reported by Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.