Billie Eilish, Radiohead and The Weeknd will all participate in a social media rally next weekend in a bid to urge governments and institutions to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and beyond.The ‘Stand Up For Ukraine’ rally has been organised by Global Citizen and is due to take place on April 8.It comes ahead of a pledging summit organised by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen which will be held the following day (April 9).As Global Citizen outlined in a recent article, the upcoming event “aims to mobilise significant funding to help vulnerable civilians impacted by the conflict and to support refugees everywhere”.Funds will also be directed to aiding those in other conflict zones, including Yemen, South Sudan and Afghanistan.“On April 8, the biggest online event Social Media Rally will support people who were forced to flee Ukraine,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement.“I’m inviting everybody: musicians, actors, athletes, businessmen, politicians, everybody.
Instagram Banned By Kremlin Amid Broader Tech Rupture Of Russia Ties
12.03.2022 - 02:01 / deadline.com
Instagram has been banned in Russia by government regulators after parent Meta Platforms eased rules in Ukraine banning violent content on the social network.
Generally, major tech platforms have clear-cut policies against violent content. Meta has temporarily eased the anti-violence provision, backing it with heightened content moderation, given the number of users calling for a military response to the invasion of Ukraine. Since Russia invaded two weeks ago, everyday Ukrainians have enlisted in the armed conflict in defense of their country, and President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials have urged citizens to grab weapons or make Molotov cocktails to join the fight.
In response to Meta’s decision, Russia’s main media regulator said it would block Instagram, adding it to Facebook on the list of major tech platforms to go dark in the territory over the past two weeks. Access to Twitter still exists, but in limited form.
Meta communications chief Nick Clegg described the rollback of the anti-violence provision a “temporary decision taken in extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances.” In a statement posted to Twitter, he said the company’s stance is “focused on protecting people’s rights to speech as an expression of self-defense in reaction to a military invasion of their country.” The policy will only apply in Ukraine, he added. “We have no quarrel with the Russian people.”
Tensions with Meta come amid a Western exodus from Russia by companies and institutions of many stripes. As a number of tech giants look to disentangle themselves from Russia, YouTube said today it was widening its global block against RT and Sputnik, which are controlled by the Russian government.
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Russia’s War in Ukraine: Media Industry Response (Live Updates)
Naman Ramachandran Global rights management company Eccho Rights has licensed “Servant of the People,” the 2016 series created by and starring Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, to Channel 4 in the U.K., MBC in the Middle East, ANT 1 in Greece and PRO TV in Romania, in solidarity with Ukraine and Zelensky.Fredrik af Malmborg, managing director at Eccho Rights, said: “Eccho Rights stands in solidarity with our friends and partners in Ukraine. It is our position that the best support the global television industry can offer to Ukraine today is to share this story.”Three seasons of the series and feature film are available to license from Eccho Rights.Nicola Söderlund, managing partner at Eccho, said: “The series is a comedy but also an important document of where Zelensky comes from.
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macho head honcho. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is transitioning from unsung European commander-in-chief to universal sex symbol in the wake of his unrelenting defense of Ukraine against Russian forces. And unabashed admirers are shamelessly lusting over the 5-foot-7, newly anointed heartthrob online. “It’s not the time or place to have a crush on President Zelensky,” admitted TikTok user Stephanie Martin in a trending clip dedicated to her unbridled attraction to the married 44-year-old head of state. “Buuuuut…,” she continued in the video entitled “The heart wants what it wants,” which has amassed more than 694,000 views. And Martin’s zeal for Zelensky is wildly echoing throughout hyper-sexual cyberspace. “Y’all, I got one thing to say. President Zelensky — daddy,” gushed a groupie on TikTok.
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