War in Ukraine: Russia restricts access to BBC in media crackdown

1 hour ago


BBC headquarters in London

Access to the BBC's Russian language services has been restricted in Russia.

Other news outlets, including Deutsche Welle, Meduza and Radio Liberty, have also had access to their services limited, Russia's state-owned news agency RIA says.

Russia's parliament has passed a law making it an offence to spread "fake" information about the armed forces.

The Kremlin objects to the conflict being called a war, instead calling it a "special military operation".

A BBC spokesperson said: "Access to accurate, independent information is a fundamental human right which should not be denied to the people of Russia, millions of whom rely on BBC News every week.

"We will continue our efforts to make BBC News available in Russia, and across the rest of the world."

Record numbers of people have read the BBC's Russian language news website since the invasion, seeking up-to-date information on the conflict.

On Thursday, one of Russia's last independent news outlets, TV Rain, stopped broadcasting after coming under pressure for its coverage of the invasion.

The channel ended its final broadcast by showing staff walking off set.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW5aiMh3ZjA
WATCH: Staff from TV Rain walk off set after final broadcast

Russia's telecommunications regulator had accused the channel of "inciting extremism, abusing Russian citizens, causing mass disruption of public calm and safety, and encouraging protests".

"No to war," said Natalia Sindeyeva, one of the channel's founders, as employees walked out of the studio.

The channel then began playing footage of a performance of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.

The ballet was used in Soviet-era broadcasts to mark the death of leaders, and was also played during the 1991 coup that contributed to the end of the Soviet Union.

The station's editor in chief, Tikhon Dzyadko, left Russia on Wednesday, saying it was due to concerns for his safety.

"The main problem is that we were covering Ukraine objectively, as professional journalists and covering from different sides. We had journalists going live and covering the situation," Ekaterina Kotrik, TV Rain presenter and former head of news, told the BBC.

She had to leave Russia due to the new law which could lead to prison terms of up to 15 years for people who intentionally spread what the Kremlin termed "fake" information about Russia's armed forces.

"Fifteen years in jail for just doing your job," Ms Kotrik said. "It's the end of democracy in Russia. Any freedom is lost."

Radio station Echo of Moscow was taken off air on Tuesday. On Thursday it was shut entirely by its board of directors. It had featured interviews from Ukraine describing the invasion.

Ekaterina Schulman is a political scientist who was presenting a programme on the station when it was taken off air.

"People like me might find ourselves with nowhere to work. Very soon there won't be media outlets, or lecture halls or other platforms where we can talk to the public" she told the BBC.

Russia's state-controlled TV has depicted the war in a very different way to broadcasts seen around the rest of the world.

The crackdown on independent journalists comes as Russia's economy has been hit by sanctions. Its currency, the rouble, has plunged in value, hitting the savings of citizens.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of "nuclear terror" after it reportedly bombarded a large nuclear power station, causing a fire in a nearby building.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted the war in Ukraine is "going to plan".

RT: Russian-backed TV news channel disappears from UK screens

1 day ago


RT has been removed from the airwaves in the UK and across the EU

Russian-backed news channel RT has disappeared from all broadcast platforms in the UK.

UK access to the TV network, formerly called Russia Today, has been affected by a ban imposed by the European Union.

Although the UK is no longer in the EU, the bloc applied sanctions to satellite companies in Luxembourg and France, which provided the RT feed to Sky, Freesat and Freeview.

RT said "the façade of free press in Europe has finally crumbled".

UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, who has described the channel as "Putin's polluting propaganda machine", said she hoped it would not return to UK screens.

"As part of a concerted effort and discussions, Russia Today is no longer streamed into British homes, either by TV, Sky, Freesat or Freeview," she told the House of Commons on Thursday.

"And we have contacted both [Facebook owner] Meta and TikTok to implore them to stop streaming Russia Today via their own online platforms.

"It is my absolute position that we will not stop until we have persuaded every organisation, based in the UK or not, that is the wrong thing to do to stream Russian propaganda into British homes."

UK media regulator Ofcom is currently investigating RT for 27 potential breaches of its broadcasting code. The watchdog has the power to revoke a broadcast licence, but any action is likely to take weeks.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-mRfFNwkDA
Watch: Nadine Dorries' emotional tribute to UK journalists in Ukraine

Ms Dorries added: "I am hoping that they expedite those investigations and that those investigations result in the removal of Russia Today's licence so that they're never again able or have the platform to broadcast their propaganda into the UK."

She also said: "Of course, politicians have absolutely no influence over the free press and nor should they. That is the responsibility of the regulator Ofcom. And the very first thing I did was wrote to Ofcom to urge them to review the output of Russia Today."

The culture secretary became emotional as she offered her "heartfelt thanks and admiration" to journalists working for the BBC, ITV and other news outlets "who are risking their lives to bring us unbiased and accurate news from a live war zone".


YouTube, which is owned by Google, has ramped up its sanctions on RT content

The EU said it was preventing RT and Sputnik, both state-owned broadcasters, from being received across Europe until the aggression towards Ukraine ends.

In a statement, the EU said RT and Sputnik promoted "systematic information manipulation and disinformation by the Kremlin".

In response to the channel's removal, RT deputy editor-in-chief Anna Belkina said: "Media regulation should be divorced from geopolitics, led by independent bodies and expert regulators, ensuring diversity in news and information sources is protected.

"Today, politicians in the EU have demonstrated their willingness to delegitimise independent regulators."

RT says it is an "autonomous" operation financed by the Russian Federation.

The removal of RT from the airwaves comes after YouTube blocked channels linked to RT and Sputnik across Europe.

"Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we're blocking YouTube channels connected to RT and Sputnik across Europe, effective immediately," a statement from Google Europe said earlier this week.

Facebook has also blocked access to RT and Sputnik in Europe.

Sir Nick Clegg, the former UK deputy prime minister, is now vice president of global affairs at Facebook's parent company, Meta. He tweeted on Monday: "We have received requests from a number of governments and the EU to take further steps in relation to Russian state-controlled media.

"Given the exceptional nature of the current situation, we will be restricting access to RT and Sputnik across the EU at this time."


The BBC has set up shortwave radio frequencies to provide news to Ukraine's citizens

Meanwhile, the BBC has halted all content licensing with its Russian customers. The corporation's commercial arm BBC Studios said: "In common with other media organisations, we have been monitoring events closely.

"The BBC's executive team were meeting [on Wednesday] and they have decided to stop all content licensing to Russian customers."

That means Russian viewers will be prevented from watching shows including Dancing With The Stars and The Green Planet.

The BBC has also confirmed it has launched two new shortwave radio frequencies to make sure its news was available in parts of Ukraine and Russia after a TV tower in Kyiv was bombed and internet services restricted.

The shortwave services are broadcasting four hours of World Service English news per day.

How to access RT.com

4 Mar, 2022 19:36

If you can’t get news from RT due to government restrictions, here are some alternative ways to access our content

Serious attempts have been made in Western nations to silence RT, following Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine. The EU Commission has given regulators in the bloc’s nations powers to ban the media outlet. If you’ve faced difficulties accessing RT’s content due to those restrictions, here are some steps you can take to bypass them.

1. If you’re reading RT on your smartphone, you can use our Android app, which can be downloaded via this link.

2. On your PC, you can use the Tor browser, which can be downloaded here. RT’s website address in Tor remains the same: www.rt.com. If Tor doesn’t work for you, or is unavailable via regular means, you can resolve this issue by sending an empty email to gettor@torproject.com and you will be sent the necessary link.

3. Another way of circumventing restrictions is to use the Psiphon censorship-bypass tool, which can be downloaded for Windows, Android, and other systems. Alternatively, you can use a VPN service of your choice. (Windows download here, direct Android download here, and other options here).

4. You can also stay in touch with RT through Telegram by subscribing to RT’s soon-to-be-reborn channel there.

Nukilia:
@naptu2 God bless you for giving us the preliminary information which shows that the West was the first to ban RT media .
This means if the West is paid back in their own coin they start crying foul in front of the camera

THIS WHOLE UKRAINIAN WAR STURVS IS BECOMING AN ECONOMIC WORLD WAR..


IT IS BEING SERIOUSLY FOUGHT, BUT WITHOUT FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES..

seunny4lif:
Don’t EU and UK banned RT.

Twitter and Facebook banned RT in Europe and UK.

France election is near and Marcon is facing massive anti government protests but you will never find it on France24 or DW

Czech Rep and many EU passed a law that anyone supporting Russia will get 4 years in Jail.

My opinion is they should have been leave RT or other Russia stations alone and let people choose.
We want Propaganda from both side not one side

naptu2:
See previous thread here: Ukraine: EU To Ban Media Orgainisations Russia Today And Sputnik




https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60617365

CryptoTeacher:
Ewo. Russia is trying so hard to gag the media and keep their citizens in the dark about what's going on in Ukraine.

Jeromejnr:


Ehen, then why did Europe ban RT media?

Why did they lie that Russia killed the soldiers on snake Island?

naptu2:
See previous thread here: Ukraine: EU To Ban Media Orgainisations Russia Today And Sputnik




https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60617365