Putin signs draconian fake news law
19:52
Even 15 years in prison is a threat for writing about Russian aggression against Ukraine not in the way the authorities wish. The law on fake news has swiftly passed through parliament, and President Vladimir Putin has already signed it. The media suspends its activities.
The Russian authorities consider practically everything that is not the Kremlin's propaganda message to be fake news. Euphemistically, the law says that there is a risk of up to 15 years in prison for disseminating false information about the activities of the Russian armed forces. In addition, the "calls to impose sanctions on Russia" are subject to criminal liability – the ones already introduced will demolish the Russian economy, which is facing a catastrophe.
As stated in the new law, "discrediting the use of the armed forces" is meant "deliberate actions aimed at undermining the authority of the Armed Forces, image and trust in the Armed Forces, diminishing their merits", and finally the authority of the Russian army.
In practice, this means total censorship, because, under the new law, the authorities can subscribe to any text or material that they do not like. The aim of the new legislation is probably to intimidate the media or people who publish entries on social media so that the truth about the aggression against Ukraine does not reach the Russians.
Even before the new law was passed, the authorities closed the Echo of Moscow radio station and the independent Dożd TV station and blocked websites such as Facebook and Twitter. On Friday, subsequent editorial offices announced that they were suspending their activities due to the draconian fake news act. This is what they did, among others Russian branches of Bloomberg or the BBC.
