The killings in Bucha, outside Kyiv, have
drawn pledges of further sanctions against Moscow from the West.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone said automated
systems that scan for violent imagery on Facebook and Instagram, which the
company also owns, were responsible for blocking hashtags including #bucha and
#buchamassacre.
"This happened automatically because
of the graphic content people posted using these hashtags. When we were made
aware of the issue yesterday, we acted quickly to unblock the hashtags,"
he wrote on Twitter.
Facebook and Instagram permit the posting
of graphic and violent content when it is shared to raise awareness of possible
human rights abuses, but deletes the content if it is extremely explicit or
celebrates suffering.
The social media company also adds warning
labels to some graphic posts that users must click through before they can see
the images.
Human rights groups have criticised Meta's
approach to removing violent content during conflicts, saying its practice of
purging the data from its servers after 90 days results in the deletion of
critical evidence of war crimes.
Stone said Meta was "exploring ways to
preserve this type and other types of content when we remove it,"
specifically in relation to the war in Ukraine.
Russia has denied any accusations related
to the murder of civilians. © Reuters