Exploring the Impact: Western Social Media Ban in Russia.

Introduction: In 2022 the conflict between Russia and Ukraine led Facebook to encourage a rise of hate speech and use of violence against Russian people. This led the Russian government to take measures and ban the use of western social media such as Facebook and Instagram in Russia and proclaim the Meta organization as an extremist organization. The ban caused various reactions which consequently led to a divergence in responses and opinions. Furthermore, the situation raises the question if the ban of western social media platforms is affecting Russian ICTs users' perception and political opinion. Aim: The aim of the study is to examine how the ban of western social media giants in Russia (Facebook, Instagram) affect Russian ICTs users’ attitude in the context of “critical citizen” or regime supporter. Also, the reasons why some Russians avoid western ICTs ban by using VPN and how some Russians experience ICTs censorship. A theoretical framework has been developed for the purpose to identify the different factors which might possibly lead to the emergence of “critical citizen” or pro-government citizen. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect empirical data and fulfill the purpose of the thesis. Conclusion and contribution: The empirical data shows that the ban of Western ICTs (Facebook, Instagram) in Russia did not negatively affect ICTs users’ attitude toward Russian government nor encouraged an emergence of “critical citizen” rather in most cases raise an understanding and support of the ban even among those who still using Facebook and Instagram. Findings show that VPN usage in most cases correlated with habits of preferences rather than a seeking of western political information. Furthermore, the user's perception on Facebook and Instagram censorship is more neutral/negative in context of general restriction and neutral/positive in context of Western influence resistance.