The Clap👏
Tech giants Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Meta (NASDAQ: FB), Twitter (NYSE: TWTR), & Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) are responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the ways that they can.
How so🧐
Google removed several Google Maps features such as live traffic & how busy stores are in Ukraine to protect citizens. Google’s YouTube prevented Russian companies from monetizing the videos they post, including state-owned news outlet RT.
Meta’s Facebook said it removed a network run by people in Russia & Ukraine claiming to be independent news outlets & publishing content aiming to divide Western countries & Ukraine.
Twitter will add labels on tweets from Russian media outlets & reduce their visibility on the platform. The social media platform said the vast majority of such tweets are coming from people retweeting & sharing these links, & so the label will be automatically put on any Russian media outlet URL.
Airbnb announced it’s offering free short-term housing for up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, & is calling on its hosts to support this effort.
Why this matters🤔
Big tech companies have faced increasing pressure to do their part to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Elon Musk’s Starlink already lent a helping hand to Ukraine recently, while Ukraine has urged Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO, Tim Cook, to disable Apple products & services from Russia, including the App Store.