Russia puts Meta spokesperson on wanted list

• It's an apparent escalation of the Kremlin's action against Meta that includes adding the parent company of Facebook and Instagram to a list of "terrorists and extremists."

Details: A Russian court ordered the arrest of Stone in absentia earlier this month for "aiding terrorism," according to Mediazona, an independent Russian news outlet co-founded by two members of Russian protest band Pussy Riot, which first reported on the listing.

• The details of the case against Stone were not immediately disclosed.

The big picture: Meta announced after Putin's forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that it was limiting the reach of Russian state-sponsored media on its platforms.

• Soon after, the Kremlin blocked access to Meta platforms and other Western sites as part of a wider free speech crackdown. The sites are only now available in Russia via VPNs.
• Representatives for Meta did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Go deeper: Russian disinformation shies away from Facebook: Report