There has been international condemnation after independent news media channels and radio stations were forced to shut down in Russia. The liberal-leaning media outlets have been sanctioned by the Kremlin over their criticism of the Russian leadership and the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.
Russia's prosecutor general ordered the shutdown of TV channel Dozhd TV (translated as TV Rain) and liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy on the basis that they were sharing false information or 'fake news' about the ongoing war that in just a week has cost thousands upon thousands of lives.
The move comes as the Russian Parliament 'the Duma' is due to pass a new law that could imprison anyone for 15 years if they refer to the conflict in Ukraine as a 'war'. The Russian state refers to the conflict as a 'special military operation' designed to 'de -Nazify' and 'de-militarise' Ukraine.
The White House condemned the moves, with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki saying:
"We have seen that and we are deeply concerned. The Kremlin right now is engaged in a full assault on media freedom and the truth. Today independent media sites such as Ekho Moskvy radio and TV Rain are off the air - they kicked them off the air and threatened to block online platforms such as VOA Russian. We have seen Russia prohibit Russian media from referring to what they are doing in Ukraine as 'a war' or 'an invasion' or 'an attack'. They are banning the use of terms even."
"Allowing media to use only government-sourced information to report on the war. They have called a special session of the parliament to consider a bill to make unofficial reporting on Russia's further invasion punishable by up to 15 years in prison. They have arrested more than 7,300 protesters - some immediately after they began to protest Putin's war of choice. They have blocked and shut down social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and they have limited the amount of dollars that citizens can take out of the country. What they are trying to do is to block any information about what they are trying to invade a sovereign country and they are taking severe steps to do exactly that."
The European Union and the United Kingdom have so far banned RT (formerly Russia Today) and Sputnik, both Russian based media outlets, from their airwaves on the basis that they are spreading false information.
Russia has cracked down hard on peaceful anti-war protestors and is seen by analysts as being more isolated than anytime in at least the last 30 years, with some even believing that Russia is heading down the route of being a new North Korea.
[Based on reporting by: MSN]
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