Twitter has imposed restrictions aimed at limiting the content of more than 300 Russian government accounts, including that of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Twitter said that these accounts will not be recommended and promoted in their timelines, notifications, or anywhere else on the site.
The company added that it would take action against any country that "restricts access to the open internet while engaged in an armed conflict."
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the Twitter platform has been very limited in Russia.
The Russian president currently has two official accounts on the social networking site: one in Russian with 3.6 million followers, and the other in English with 1.7 million followers
Twitter said allowing Russian government officials to use the site and post freely on the site, while at the same time limiting the platform in Russia, "creates a harmful information imbalance".
As part of Tuesday's measures, it will not "recommend, promote or heavily publicize content on more than 300 official government accounts." This means that Twitter's powerful algorithm will not promote these accounts
Targeted Russian government accounts include profiles of ministries and embassies, as well as accounts of senior Russian officials.
The accounts have previously been criticized for spreading misinformation during the Ukraine war, but unlike tweets from Russian state media, they have not previously been subject to any specific modification by Twitter.
On March 10, the Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom claimed in its official account that the bombing of a maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was fake.
Because this claim was false, Twitter later removed the tweets, claiming that they contained fake news.
Last month, a BBC investigation found more misinformation spread by official Russian government accounts, as well as evidence of coordinated activity - using multiple government accounts to drive public opinion and promote a particular narrative - in contravention of Twitter's rules.
Recent publications alleging the killing of civilians in Bucha town by the Ukrainian government have also been debunked.
However, Twitter says it was Russia's actions in Ukraine, along with the country's decision to ban and limit social media platforms locally, that led to his latest move.
Russia decides to slow down Twitter platform due to "banned content"
Facebook strongly criticizes the decision to ban its platforms in Russia
Why did Russia impose restrictions on Facebook?
“When a government engaged in an armed conflict blocks or restricts access to online services within a country, while it continues to use these services to advance its positions and views, this creates a harmful imbalance,” said Yoel Roth, head of Twitter's Safety and Integrity Department. in the information."
Twitter says it applies the rules to any country that limits access to online services while it is at war between nations. But the new rules, which took effect on Tuesday, affect only the Russian government's calculus initially.
Not a "this for that" policy.
على الرغم من عدم حظر موقع Twitter في روسيا ، إلا أن الموقع أصبح بطيئًا جدًا في العمل.
ومع ذلك ، يقول موقع تويتر إن تحركه لم يكن عملاً انتقاميًا.
قال روث: "لكي نكون واضحين ، هذه ليست سياسة" هذا من أجل هذا ". "إذا قمت بحظر Twitter ، فستقوم إدارة الموقع بإزالة توصياتك الضخمة أو إعلاناتك - لا ، سيحدث ذلك سواء تم حظر Twitter أم لا."
وأضاف أن تويتر سيتخذ إجراءات بشأن وسائل الإعلام التي تصور أسرى الحرب ، وهذا ما فعلته ونشرته عبر حسابات وسائل الإعلام الحكومية أو الحكومية في روسيا.
"إذا تم تحديد مادة إعلامية ، منشورة من قبل أو على حسابات حكومية أو وسائل إعلام حكومية ، تعرض أسرى الحرب ، أو إذا تعرض أسير حرب لسوء المعاملة ، مثل العنف أو الإهانة أو السخرية ، فسنطلب أن تكون هذه التغريدات قال روث.
وأضاف أن تويتر "قطع" على منصته إعلانات مهمة لوسائل الإعلام الحكومية الروسية - مثل روسيا اليوم وسبوتنيك - في 28 فبراير ، بعد أربعة أيام من بدء غزو أوكرانيا.
وقالت الشركة لبي بي سي في وقت سابق إن الإجراء "قلل من مدى انتشار مثل هذا المحتوى وانتشاره بنسبة 30 في المائة".
ومع ذلك ، لم يتم تنفيذ هذا الإجراء على الحسابات الرسمية للحكومة الروسية.
في حديثه الشهر الماضي ، وصف Tim Graham ، محلل وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي في مركز QUT Digital Media Research Center في أستراليا ، ذلك بأنه "ثغرة" في سياسات الاعتدال في تويتر.
وقال "إنها بالتأكيد نقطة عمياء في دفاعات تويتر ضد المعلومات المضللة".