Updated March 3rd, 2022 at 13:51 IST
See how Grammarly, Uber & other apps are extending support to Ukraine amid Russian attack
Amid the crisis situation in Ukraine due to Russia's invasion, several applications including Grammarly, Uber, Twitter, and Facebook has extended support.
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In a bid to stand with citizens from crisis-hit Ukraine, several applications and tech giants have responded to Russia's invasion and offered a supportive gesture. In the latest, Ukrainian American cloud-based typing assistant programme- Grammarly changed its logo to the flag colour of Ukraine to extend support. Prior to this, applications including Facebook, Twitter, Uber also made changes in response to the invasion by Russia.
Grammarly goes blue yellow for Ukraine:
The application has also written an open letter to tech giants for Ukrainian citizens and also announced to donate $5 million to organizations and funds defending and supporting the people of Ukraine.
Over the coming weeks, Grammarly will donate $5 million to organizations and funds defending and supporting the people of Ukraine.
— Grammarly (@Grammarly)
We wholeheartedly #StandWithUkraine, and we invite you to do the same. Here are some immediate ways to help: https://t.co/6AcrWpay4I pic.twitter.com/3P0FqFNTuH
Russia-Ukraine war: Applications show support to the crisis-hit country
Uber has offered free rides at the Polish border, transporting food+essential goods, funding humanitarian aid:
We’re stepping up our response to the horrific war and humanitarian crisis in 🇺🇦Ukraine: free rides at the Polish border, transporting food+essential goods, funding humanitarian aid, and launching in-app donations so @Uber users can support relief efforts. https://t.co/YBWYSvUfAA
— dara khosrowshahi (@dkhos)
Facebook's (Meta) head of security policy, Nathaniel Gleicher announced on February 26, 2022, that the application is "prohibiting Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on our platform anywhere in the world." On Instagram, the company has rolled out a privacy and account security alert in Ukraine with specific steps on how to protect your account.
1/ We are now prohibiting Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on our platform anywhere in the world. We also continue to apply labels to additional Russian state media. These changes have already begun rolling out and will continue into the weekend.
— Nathaniel Gleicher (@ngleicher)
The microblogging platform- Twitter has temporarily paused advertisements in Ukraine and Russia to ensure critical public safety information is elevated and ads don't detract users from it. Twitter is proactively monitoring tweets on the platform to avoid manipulation. The platform has also mentioned that it is aware of restrictions for some people in Russia.
Today, we’re adding labels to Tweets that share links to Russian state-affiliated media websites and are taking steps to significantly reduce the circulation of this content on Twitter.
— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel)
We’ll roll out these labels to other state-affiliated media outlets in the coming weeks. pic.twitter.com/57Dycmn8lx
Additionally, Google has imposed restrictions on the Russian media outlets that will not be able to display any advertisement via Google Search or through Gmail. In a statement, YouTube has also said that it is "pausing a number of channels' ability to monetize on YouTube." Significantly, Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed concerns for Ukrainians and has posted his view on the current situation on Twitter. As per his tweet, Apple is doing everything it can to safeguard the company’s teams in Ukraine and will also support local humanitarian efforts.
I am deeply concerned with the situation in Ukraine. We’re doing all we can for our teams there and will be supporting local humanitarian efforts. I am thinking of the people who are right now in harm’s way and joining all those calling for peace.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook)
Earlier, Mykhailo Federov, the Vice President of Ukraine had written letters to two of the biggest tech companies in the world, Apple and Google. In a tweet, Federov mentioned that he has contacted Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, to block the Apple Store services for the citizens of the Russian Federation, supporting the package of US government sanctions. The Vice President had also addressed Google to stop their services in the Russian Federation, including Google Pay.
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Published March 3rd, 2022 at 13:50 IST