The Russian media regulator has blocked Google News. The reason is the spread of “misleading” information about the Ukraine war.
After numerous other media and networks, Russia has now blocked Google News.
Materials were published on the platform that contained “misleading information of public interest about the course of the special military operation in Ukraine”.
This was announced by the Russian media supervisory authority Roskomnadzor in Moscow, according to the Interfax news agency.
Facebook and Instagram banned
On Monday, a court had banned the two already blocked social media platforms Facebook and Instagram as “extremist”.
The background is a decision by the US company Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, to allow calls for violence against Russian troops in Ukraine.
In Russia, the war against Ukraine is referred to as a “military operation”. In the worst case, there is a risk of imprisonment for spreading alleged false news about the Russian army.
Russia blocks dozens of media portals
Last week, the Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor blocked more than 30 Russian and international media websites. These include the investigative website “Bellingcat”, two Russian-language Israeli news sites and regional portals such as “Permdaily.ru”.
The Russian newspaper “Novyje Isvestia”, which has only been available online since 2016, has also been blocked. Britain’s BBC has also fallen victim to the lockdown.
Several Ukrainian media and an Estonian portal, which also offers news in Russian, can no longer be reached from Russian IP addresses.
