Op-Ed: Journalists are trying to thwart Putin's media crackdown
As Russias invasion of Ukraine escalates, the Kremlin is fighting off another perceived threat at home: the truth about the war. With the casualty count mounting in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin is trying to keep the public in the dark.
Russia is on the path to becoming an even more repressive dictatorship than it has been since the fall of the Soviet Union. This week, what little independent media had existed before is quickly disappearing as the Kremlin has significantly ramped up censorship. Roskomnadzor, Russias communications and media authority, blocked access to Facebook, Twitter and almost all major independent and foreign news outlets. The Kremlin doubled down on Friday by making the spreading of fake news about the war news that challenges the Kremlins narrative punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Many Russia-based news agencies have halted coverage for fear of journalists facing arrest, including prominent independent news outlets such as Dozhd and Ekho Moskvy. Novaya Gazeta and the Bell also removed their content about the war. BBC journalists based in Russia have stopped working. The Kremlin has similarly intensified its clampdown on opposition activity, quickly arresting anyone who protests against the war.
The dominant state media depicts Russias involvement in Ukraine as a special military operation aimed at demilitarizing and de-Nazifying" the regime in Kyiv and defending persecuted Russian speakers in the Donbas region. Ukraine and the West are presented as the aggressors.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/op-ed-journalists-are-trying-to-thwart-putin-s-media-crackdown/ar-AAUDb2H