DUSSELDORF, Germany (Washington Insider Magazine) – On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stepped up his attack on media organizations and individuals who do not follow the Kremlin line on Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, banning Facebook and Twitter and passing a bill criminalizing the deliberate distribution of what Moscow considers “fake” news.
Blocks imposed on BBC, the US government-funded Voice of America and Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, as well as the Latvian website Meduza and German station Deutsche Welle, have been imposed. The government’s broad campaign against international news organizations that publish in Russian aims to tighten restrictions even more on what information the home audience gets about the attack on Ukraine.
According to Roskomnadzor, the Russian media watchdog, access to Facebook and Twitter has been restricted as a result of a decision made by the prosecutor general’s office. Twitter has previously been accused by the watchdog of failing to remove information that had been blocked by Russian officials and of slowing access to it.
While Twitter is “aware of reports” that its platform is being banned in Russia, the company asserted in a statement Friday that it has not been able to verify this.
According to ABC NEWS, the measure, which was rapidly passed by both chambers of Russia’s Moscow-controlled parliament and signed by Putin, mandates jail penalties of up to 15 years for individuals circulating material that contradicts the Russian government’s war narrative.
Several news organizations have announced that they will take a break from reporting inside Russia to assess the situation. CNN and CBS News, for example, have said that they will cease broadcasting in Russia, while the BBC and Bloomberg have announced that its journalists will be temporarily suspended from working there.
Russian officials have fraudulently labeled stories of Russian military defeats or civilian casualties in Ukraine as “fake” news on several occasions. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is referred to as a “special military operation” rather than an invasion or war by state media agencies.
For publishing what authorities perceive to be fake news regarding the military, the legislation allows for up to 3 years in prison or a fine, but the maximum penalty is 15 years in situations found to have resulted in “severe consequences.”
Roskomnadzor cited Facebook’s suspected “discrimination” of Russian media and government information resources as a reason for the ban. The limits imposed by Facebook parent Meta on the Russian news outlet RT and some other state-controlled media, according to the agency, breach Russian laws.
Russian media restrictions on five international media companies are among the most important and frequently critical foreign media outlets publishing in Russian.
The BBC’s Russian-language news service, according to Director-General Tim Davie, will continue to function from outside Russia.
The BBC had earlier in the day tweeted advice on how Russian readers may get past the restriction by using applications or the “dark web.”
The BBC said earlier this week that shortwave radio broadcasting will be restored to Ukraine and regions of Russia, allowing listeners to listen to its programming using simple equipment.
Some well-known Russian media outlets have decided to shut down rather than face severe limitations on what they may cover. The news website Znak announced its closure on Friday morning, just after the draught legislation was adopted by the parliament. Following a warning from the government, Russia’s main independent radio station, Ekho Moskvy, was shut down on Thursday, while independent television network Dozdh suspended operations.
The government also went on with a broad campaign to attack human rights groups.
The offices of Memorial, one of Russia’s oldest and significant human rights groups, were searched by authorities. According to Memorial officials, no explanation was given and no cautions were sent.
Civic Assistance, a major human rights organization, had its Moscow headquarters searched as well.