‘There will be more repression’: Exiled Russian journalist Irina Borogan on Moscow’s censorship of Ukraine invasion
As the Russian military continues its invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin is also fighting a different kind of battle at home in its attempts to quash independent news coverage and dissenting narratives about the attack it launched on February 24. Across Russia, journalists have been detained and their outlets investigated, blocked, and restricted from using social media. On…
Russia further blocks media outlets, social media
New York, March 4, 2022 – Russian authorities should allow all local and international media outlets and social media platforms to operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Russian state media regulator Roskomnadzor on Friday, March 4, blocked access to several news websites, including those of BBC Russian, German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle,…
Russia’s silencing of Ekho Moskvy forces a sad end on a brave broadcaster
Russia’s silencing of Ekho Moskvy over its Ukraine war coverage marks an end to an iconic radio station with a brave history dating back to the late Soviet era. Even in the heady final years of glasnost (“openness”), hiding truth from the Soviet public was pretty easy for the country’s Communist leaders. When hardline Communists…
Poland charges Spanish freelance reporter with spying for Russia
UPDATE, October 18, 2024: Polish authorities accused Pablo González, also known as Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov, a Spanish-Russian citizen, of being an agent for Russia’s intelligence services. Since his arrest in February 2022, he had been held in pre-trial detention and was released to Russia in August 2024, as part of a prisoner exchange. Recent reports…
Dozhd TV editor Tikhon Dzyadko on why he fled Russia and shut his broadcaster down
Russian independent broadcaster Dozhd TV announced during a live broadcast on Thursday that it would suspend its operations after Russia’s media regulator blocked its website for spreading “deliberately false information about the actions of Russian military personnel.” Dozhd TV had drawn the ire of Russian authorities because of it used the word “invasion” to report on Russia’s war in…
‘Not just statistics’: Ukrainska Pravda editor Sevgil Musaieva on the risks and challenges of covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Twice a day, Sevgil Musaieva, chief editor at Kyiv-based independent news site Ukrainska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth), checks in with her staff, now scattered around the country for security reasons as they report amid Russian missile and rocket attacks. Musaieva knows the high stakes involved in reporting the truth. Two of the outlet’s journalists were killed in retaliation for…
Proposed Russian legislation threatens 15 years in prison for ‘fake’ information about Ukraine invasion
Paris, March 3, 2022 – Russian lawmakers should not pass a draft law that would threaten to imprison journalists for sharing information about the country’s recent invasion of Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. The State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s legislature, is scheduled to consider legislation on Friday that would impose…
Ukrainian camera operator Yevhenii Sakun killed in Russian shelling of Kyiv TV tower
New York, March 2, 2022 – In response to reports that Ukrainian journalist Yevhenii Sakun was killed on Tuesday, March 1, when Russian forces shelled a television tower in Kyiv, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Ukrainian journalist Yevhenii Sakun, who was…
CPJ joins call for human rights protections in EU Digital Services Act
CPJ joined 71 civil society organizations in a March 1 letter calling on European Union member states to ensure that the Digital Services Act protects human rights as final negotiations on the text begin. The DSA is a legislative framework which could limit the spreading of hate speech, disinformation, and other illegal content on the…
Russia blocks Ekho Moskvy and Dozhd TV, restricts social media access
Washington, D.C., March 1, 2021 — Russian authorities should allow Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow), Dozhd TV, and all other news outlets to work freely, and should refrain from restricting access to social media platforms, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Since last week, Russian authorities have slowed and restricted access to Facebook and…