Seeing all the heartbreaking stories of people in the Ukraine, it's easy to get fixated on tanks, explosions and numbers and forget how many real people's lives are going to be destroyed and ruined. Since 2014 more than 14,000 people have already died in east of Ukraine but now it is going to be much worse. Many civilians are going to be dragged into this war as Putin is determined to show the rest of Europe and America that he can wage war with impunity.

As thousands more people die, it is worth remembering the role that disinformation has played in enabling the tanks to roll into Ukraine and the part that social media has had in this. FaceBook has done little to stop Russian interference in elections through Cambridge Analytica and disinformation by Russian backed influencers. Even now Putin's assertion that this is a peace-keeping mission and that Ukraine was never a real country is being shared across social media unchecked. And every advertiser dollar spent on Facebook condones this.

When I hear FaceBook talk about building community, it makes me feel physically sick. Today shows that a country like Ukraine that is an essential part of Europe is being treated in the most un-communal way by the very social channels that should be spreading good not the evils of disinformation and interference that are now coming home to roost in civilian deaths. Advertisers are playing a bigger role in this than they realise.

Sending all my love to our colleagues and their families in the Ukraine who are fearing for their lives.

There has to be a better way....
#love

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