First modification:
Putin signed this Friday, March 4, a law that provides for up to 15 years in prison for spreading “false information” about Russian forces in the conflict with Ukraine. The BBC announced that he had stopped reporting from Russia until he understood the possible consequences of the new rule for journalists on the ground.
This Friday, the Moscow Duma unanimously adopted a law that will punish the spread of “fake news” about the Russian Army and its role in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“Literally, starting tomorrow, this law will force to punish – and very harshly – those who lied and made statements that discredited our armed forces,” Duma Chairman Viacheslav Volodin said.
Those found guilty will face fines or several years in prison depending on the “seriousness” of the information released. “If the fakes cause serious consequences, they threaten prison sentences of up to 15 years,” the Duma said in a statement.
Putin officially signed that law, along with another, which will hold criminally liable those who have called for sanctions against Russia.
A “special military operation”
The Russian media cannot use the word “invasion”. President Vladimir Putin describes the intervention in Ukraine as a “special military operation” that aims to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine. Putin also stated that Russia had to guarantee its security in the face of NATO enlargement.
In Russia, the population practically only has access to official channels controlled by the government, which often leads the country’s citizens to believe that the Russian operation is small-scale or purely defensive.
Senior Russian officials accuse Westerners of spreading false information to divide the Russian people. The Russian Foreign Ministry claims that the Western media offer an anti-Russian view of the world, while failing to hold their own leaders accountable for corruption or foreign wars such as the one in Iraq.
On Tuesday, Russian shells hit Kiev’s main television and radio tower, killing five people.
Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s Defense Minister, wrote on Twitter: “Russia is preparing to launch an info&psychology operation. Its goal is to break the resistance of the Ukrainian people and Army. First of all, they can organize a break in the connection. Then the spread of false mass messages that the country’s Ukrainian leadership has agreed to surrender. We are in Kiev! There is no surrender! Only victory!”
🇷🇺is preparing to launch an info&psycho operation.Its goal is to break the resistance of🇺🇦ppl&army. At 1st,they can arrange a breakdown of connection.After-the spread of massive FAKE messages that 🇺🇦country leadership has agreed to give up.We’re in Kyiv!No surrender!Only victory! pic.twitter.com/oUTqUxStde
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) March 1, 2022
Facebook and several Western networks banned in Russia
Russia said Facebook was being blocked for restricting Russian state-backed channels. Various media outlets were also banned in Russia, including the BBC, Voice of America and Deutsche Welle, for disseminating, according to Moscow, “false information”.
“Several international news websites, such as DW, the BBC and Meduza, are no longer accessible in Russia. Media regulators said Moscow’s decision came on the same day that Russia invaded Ukraine,” the statement said. Deutsche Welle on Twitter.
A number of international news websites, including DW, the BBC and Meduza, are no longer accessible in Russia. Media regulators said Moscow’s decision was put forward the same day Russia invaded Ukraine.https://t.co/7x1uYrcKJQ
— DW News (@dwnews) March 4, 2022
Voice of America released a statement assuring that the Russian public deserves access to objective information and that it would continue to support tools that would allow it to bypass any blocking attempts.
The BBC also responded: “Access to accurate and independent information is a fundamental human right that should not be denied to the citizens of Russia, millions of whom trust BBC News every week.”
For their part, several Western countries have also banned the Russian news networks RT and Sputnik, which the European Union accuses of systematic disinformation about the war in Ukraine.
CNN and BBC stop reporting in Russia
The new Russian law targets anyone on social media, but also particularly journalists working in Russia, which is why BBC chief Tim Davie considered that it will criminalize journalism. Consequently, the BBC announced this Friday, as did the American chain CNN, that it will stop reporting from Russia.
“It leaves us with no choice but to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this untimely development,” his boss said in a statement. Tim Davie explained that BBC journalists will continue to operate, but outside of Russia for the time being.
BBC statement on reporting from within Russia.
Reacting to new legislation passed by the Russian authorities, BBC Director-General Tim Davie says: pic.twitter.com/uhowHW3jkr— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) March 4, 2022
The BBC had also said in a statement that it would start broadcasting four hours of news in English on shortwave radio daily in Ukraine and parts of Russia. It would bring back an antiquated technology used in the Cold War to allow the Russian and Ukrainian people to be able to consult the information on their network.
On Wednesday, the BBC announced that its Russian-language news website reached 10.7 million people in the last week, more than triple its weekly average in 2022.
with Reuters