Russia blocks Deutsche Welle


Moscow accuses Deutsche Welle of fake news and blocks its websites. However, there are ways to bypass exclusion.

Roskommandsor, Russia’s media watchdog, has decided to put a “brake” on a number of media outlets, including Deutsche Welle and the BBC, on the grounds that they “broadcast false news”. According to the Russian agency Interfax, the bans also apply to the “Voice of America”, the news website Medusa, as well as the American radio station RadioFreeEurope / Radio Liberty. Restrictions have also been imposed on Facebook and the Google Playstore, according to the GlobalCheck NGO in the early hours of Friday, as well as individual journalists.

Limburg: “Difficult situation for free journalism”

DW CEO Peter Limburg confirms Russia’s “brake” on dw.com in all languages ​​and refutes allegations of misinformation. “We are an independent station with an international character and based in Germany, we are not a government station,” Limburg said in a letter to the DW audience in Russia. It was preceded by the forced closure of DW’s Moscow office in early February. Since then, says Peter Limburg, “the situation for free journalism in Russia is becoming more difficult every day.”

With the closure of its Moscow office and the ban on Deutsche Welle’s English and German television programs, Moscow was reacting to a ban imposed by the German Independent Regulatory Authority on the Russian state-run RT channel, which did not have the required license. . All this happened before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the hostilities, the Russian authorities have intensified their restrictions on the media, which cover the events with a critical attitude. Peter Limburg points out that the Russian invasion of the neighboring country is a “raid, causing endless pain, destruction, death and exile.”

Echo Moskwy is disbanded

But the Russian media is no longer allowed to broadcast anything but the official announcements of the Russian authorities about military operations in Ukraine. In addition, the expression “attack” and “invasion” is prohibited. On Thursday, the independent radio station Echo Moskwy (Moscow Echo) announced that it was ending its program, following a relevant ban imposed by the authorities. The ban also applies to the respective television station.

For those concerned, however, there are opportunities to circumvent censorship and exclusions when accessing the internet. For example, using a VPN (Virtual Private Network), which provides secure and encrypted access. In addition, it is possible to circumvent censorship by using the Deutsche Welle App. The anti-censorship mechanism has been integrated into the App and works simply at the touch of a button.

Fiber Eizele

Edited by: Giannis Papadimitriou

Source: Deutsche Welle

Source: Capital

You may also like