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Since the outbreak of the military offensive in Ukraine, the word “war” has been banned in Russian media and Western social networks have been blocked. How are Russians informed? What is their view of the conflict?
What do Russians know about the war in Ukraine? What sources of information do they have access to? Since the beginning of the military offensive, Russia has become a country almost cut off from the outside world, and the mainstream Russian media tirelessly repeat the same message: Russian soldiers are in Ukraine to fight the “Nazis”, and they are not aiming civilians, a majority opinion in the Russian population today. According to a survey by an institute presented as independent, 83% of Russians would approve of Vladimir Putin’s action.
Two new laws to lock down information
In Russia, every day, on all TV channels and radios, the West is mocked, the foreign media singled out, accused of spreading false information. Giving a point of view different from that of the government has become impossible: two new laws completely block information about Ukraine. It is now forbidden to use the word “war”, it is necessary to speak of “special operation”, and any criticism of the army can be assimilated to the dissemination of false news and be liable to fifteen years in prison. The Facebook, Instagram and Twitter networks were blocked, and the most famous opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta decided to suspend its publication…
A report by Virginie Vilar, Olivier Sibille, Adrien Bellay and Léo Lochmann broadcast in “Special Envoy” on April 28, 2022.
The report is followed by an interview with Denis Kataev, Russian journalist, in the “Special Envoy” car.
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