Some Lithuanian Facebook users have been blocked from the social network for posting pro-Ukraine messages that may have included derogatory references to Russians. An analyst says Facebook’s moderation algorithms are not well-attuned to the Lithuanian language and sometimes block posts for no good reason.
According to Debunk.org, an analysis centre tracking disinformation, the most common terms that are likely to get an account blocked on Facebook or Instagram are “maskoliai”, “kacapai”, and “orkai”.
“We have received about 120 reports with fairly well-structured information, one of the most common terms for which people are blocked on Meta platforms, both on Facebook and Instagram, is ‘Maskolija’ or ‘maskoliai’,” Debunk.org head Viktoras Daukšas told members of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence (NSGK) on Wednesday.
Both “maskoliai” and “kacapai” – the second most common term that is blocked – are derogatory references to Russians. The other terms include “orkai” (orcs), “ruskiai” (ruskies), “Putino zombiai” (Putin’s zombies), “vatnikai” (vatniks, a term used to derogate assumed supporters of Russia), “rusų naciai” (Russian Nazis).
In one instance, Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius had his Facebook account blocked for one day after posting an historical map and commenting that “Maskolija” is a historic term for the medieval Duchy of Muscovy.
“This is absolutely true, but the algorithms took it as prohibited content and simply blocked it,” Daukšas said.
On Wednesday, the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence held a meeting to discuss why Meta was blocking some pro-Ukraine accounts and posts.
“People who are rallying support, writing supportive messages, perhaps using one word against the enemy in a somewhat more emotional way, are blocked, the reach of their posts is restricted and so on. This has been pointed out by our public figures, by the media, by our executive authorities, and there have been meetings with representatives of Meta, which owns both Facebook and Instagram,” said conservative MP Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chairman of the NSKG.
Daukšas believes that unreasonable blocks may be a result of Meta’s algorithms that are not suited for the Lithuanian language.
“In our expert opinion, the problem is that Facebook has many languages, but the algorithms seem to work only in the major languages or only in English. This means that machine translation is used everywhere, they translate everything into English, and then apply the algorithms,” Daukšas said.
Last week, the Lithuanian Cabinet Office reported that the team of Debunk.org was collecting examples of Meta-owned platforms blocking posts about Russia’s war in Ukraine. This is expected to help identify not only specific cases, but also the overall scale of the problem.
Meta representatives are scheduled to visit Lithuania in January to discuss the issue.
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