[Russian-Ukraine War]This is what Putin is most afraid of!Shut down Apple, Google to block media | Internet blockade | Russian-Ukrainian war | Russia | Anti-war | Ukraine | VOA | DW | CNN | BBC | Internet media

[Voice of Hope, March 4, 2022](Reported by our reporter Li Hui)Following the closure of Apple and Google’s two major app stores, Russian authorities have blocked Twitter and Facebook, two major social media sites, and most foreign news sites in recent days. Big media such as CNN, BBC, VOA, Deutsche Welle, etc. have all been blocked. At the same time, Russia also controls and suppresses domestic news media. At present, words such as “anti-war” and “Ukraine” have become sensitive words.

In order to block the news, Russian authorities closed the App Store and Google Play on March 2. On Friday (March 4), the Russian authorities banned international media sites including the Voice of America, the BBC, Free Europe, Deutsche Welle, etc., accusing them of “deliberately spreading false information through systematic reporting.”

At present, the Russian pages of the BBC and the Voice of America cannot be opened without a VPN. Reuters said the English-language website of the Voice of America is still accessible, but the BBC’s English-language website has been blocked.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, more than a dozen media outlets have been blocked or fined by Russian authorities.

US State Department spokesman John Price said on Wednesday (March 2) that Russia had intensified reports of “misleading and suppressing” the truth about Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

At the same time, Russia also controls the domestic news media. Russian authorities have told their domestic media that Russia’s actions in Ukraine cannot be described as “attacks, invasions or declarations of war”. Russian state media called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “special military operation”.

An unnamed Russian TV staff member told Voice of Hope reporters that the information blockade in Russia is more severe than people think. Currently, 20 TV channels, except for two pet channels, are all the same voice.

The staff member said that their family had already given away the TV, because there was no news on TV, only propaganda.

A first-year student from the Russian University of Finance and Economics told Voice of Hope reporters that I have very little information. I don’t talk to people about this, and I don’t watch Russian TV news, nor do I watch Ukrainian news. “There are a lot of rumors, very scary things,” he said.

The student said that Apple and Ikea have ceased operations (in Russia) and may close (more businesses). The whole atmosphere in Russia is tense and people are discussing in private. There are many people who want to take their families and try to leave as soon as possible. People are also reading various manuals on what to do during a rocket attack and on evacuation etc.

He also said, “We are very different from developed countries. There, people choose their own president, express their opinions, and then the upper echelons listen. In our country, the government, frankly, doesn’t care about us. They Not interested in our opinion and position. They’re going to smear everything they don’t like with bitumen.”

At present, on the Russian Internet, words such as “anti-war” and “Ukraine” have become Internet sensitive words. At the same time, Russia also cracked down on some of its domestic news media. Some TV stations and newspapers have detained their officers for reporting news about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Among them, the Russian independent TV station “TV Rain” announced a temporary suspension of the broadcast.

US Congressman Michael McCaul said on Wednesday that Moscow’s “manipulation and censorship of the media is appalling.”

Russia has conducted online censorship since 2012. It started out as a way to block child pornography, drug-related sites and sites describing suicide methods. But the bill was subsequently amended to allow the blocking of material classified as “extremist” and criticism of the government. In December 2021, Russian authorities fined Google and Facebook 7.2 billion rubles and 1.9 billion rubles, respectively, for failing to remove prohibited content.

Editor in charge: Zhang Lili

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