Meta (former Facebook) has updated Facebook’s Community Help section in Ukraine to add information from local UN agencies and Red Cross societies, including instructions on how to seek medical help, how to stay safe and how to get assistance. This feature is available to users not only in Ukraine, but also in neighbouring countries.
In addition, the Community Help section now contains the WhatsApp helpline to Ukraine’s State Emergency Services information, which connects people with critical information including emergency response procedures. The link to Community Help will be displayed at the top of people’s Facebook and Instagram feeds for people in Ukraine or for those who have left recently for neighboring countries.
Meta said it will also “add new mental health tips and resources from international organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Medical Corps in the Emotional Health Center on Facebook. The resources will be available globally in Ukrainian, Russian and English and will offer information on topics such as what to do in times of stress and how to provide support to children during a crisis.”
Over the past couple of weeks, Facebook took some steps to curb the spread of Russian disinformation as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The social network took down fake accounts boosting Russian disinformation in Ukraine, begun demoting posts containing links to Russian state-controlled media, and enabled its “lock profile” tool to protect the accounts of users in Ukraine. This tool designed to give users “one-click” access to additional privacy and security features.
“When their profile is locked, people who aren’t their friends can’t download or share their profile photo or see posts on their timeline,” Meta’s Head of Security Policy Nathaniel Gleicher said at the time.
Cybersecurity Help’s statement on the critical situation in Ukraine
On February 24, people in many cities and towns across Ukraine woke up to the sounds of explosions and artillery fire, as the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of the country. Such actions are unacceptable, political ambitions of any man aren’t worth of blood, tears, and destruction of millions of lives. We give our full support to the Ukrainian people in these hard times. No more war! Слава Україні!