On Wednesday, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, introduced a new technology that will automatically delete posts containing “misinformation” before they are published. Facebook Vice President of Communities Maria Angelidou-Smith stated, “Incoming posts that contain content rated by third-party fact-checkers as false are declined before they are seen in the group, which helps reduce the visibility of misinformation.” 

Angelidou-Smith also noted that “Communities can only thrive as places to connect when they are safe. These new tools will help admins prevent the spread of misinformation and manage interactions in their group.”

The new suspension feature is an update of Facebook’s mute function, which just banned users from posting on a page indefinitely. Users may now be temporarily suspended for a specific amount of time by pages. Additionally, the admin assist page will allow users to suspend page members and automatically deny member requests from other users.

The announcement comes amid a report that Russian authorities ordered Facebook to stop independently fact-checking content from state-sponsored groups. Facebook recently shut down two anti-Ukraine propaganda campaigns linked to a Russian website established to portray Ukraine as a failed state.

Meta also provided an update on its operations in Ukraine since the invasion began, announcing access to Ukraine’s State Emergency Services and World Health Organization helplines via its WhatsApp platform and free ad space for the World Health Organization and the International Medical Corps.