(PatriotSpotlight.org) – The microblogging site X, formerly known as Twitter, briefly suspended the profile of Alexei Navalny’s wife Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian democracy activist. The social media platform announced in a statement that the suspension was the result of a technological error. X said that the mistake was due to the platform’s spam and manipulation defenses.
They said its defense infrastructure had accidentally flagged Yulia Navalnaya as having broken the site’s rules, but stressed that they had “unsuspended” her after realizing the alleged glitch. They said that changes would be made to its operations as regards spam policies in the wake of the shocking affair.
The temporary restrictions placed on Navalnaya’s account prompted protest, with many users placing the blame on X CEO Elon Musk, who acquired the site in April 2022. Musk has previously expressed opposition to US funding for Ukraine in its war against the invading Russian army. He also had trade links with other authoritarian states such as China.
Yulia Navalnaya’s suspension came after she had taken to the site to write about the death of her husband in a Siberian prison following his years of extensive protests against the Russian regime. In one post she directly issued a rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged the return of her husband’s remains for an appropriate burial. Navalnaya said she did not “care” that the press secretary of Putin-who she described as a “killer”-how they responded to her words. She said authorities must “give back” Alexei Navalnay’s body and allow him a dignified burial and allow people to say their farewells to him. Russian authorities say that the opposition leader’s death remains under investigation, but US President Joe Biden has directly blamed Putin for his death.
Navalnaya has staunchly backed her husband’s activism and campaigned for his release from jail, along with criticizing the Russian government more generally.
Navalny spent much of his career as an activist exposing extensive corruption among the Russian political and business elite, publishing scores of articles and documentaries on allegations of bribery, corruption and embezzlement.
X has been officially blocked in Russia since 2022. This latest row is an example of the complex role of social media as regards political freedom and the complications of automated technology.
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