Russia Blocks Twitter, Facebook As Ukraine Crisis Escalates

Vladimir Putin has blocked social media sites, Facebook and Twitter, as the war between Russia and Ukraine enters a new phase.

Both the EU and the UK have warned social media companies not to allow Russia to use their platforms to spread propaganda, prompting Facebook and others to ban state media outlets Sputnik and RT.

The Russian media watchdog accused Facebook of censorship and ‘discrimination towards Russian media’ after Instagram joined in banning the Russian news outlets.

Facebook and Instagram have blocked Russian outlets RT and Sputnik in the UK and EU.

Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor announced on Friday, a week after Moscow invaded Ukraine, that Facebook would be banned, citing ’26 instances of discrimination toward Russian media’.

Earlier on Friday Facebook’s parent company Meta announced that RT and Sputnik would be barred from Facebook and Instagram in the UK, three days after the sites were banned across Europe.

Russia is also taking steps to keep the media under its control. Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor ‘restricted access’ to social media network Twitter after blocking Facebook in the country, Russian news agencies reported on Friday. Access to Twitter was restricted based on the request from the Prosecutor General from February 24, according to Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies.

In addition to banning social media sites, Russia is working on a legislation that would impose harsh jail terms and fines for publishing ‘fake news’. The penalty for fake news stories that led to serious consequences, according to Russia’s lower house, is imprisonment of up to 15 years. The lawmakers also amended laws to fine or jail people calling for sanctions against Russia.

A host of independent media houses, including BBC, Bloomberg, CBC, CNN and Financial Times, have announced that they’re halting operation in Russia.

The BBC has a large bureau in Moscow and runs a Russian-language news website. Director-General Tim Davie said in a statement that “this legislation appears to criminalize the process of independent journalism,” adding that journalists could face “the risk of criminal prosecution simply for doing their jobs.”

Two Russian outlets, Nobel Prize-winning newspaper Novaya Gazeta and business news website The Bell, said Friday they will stop reporting on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to protect their journalists.

The Kremlin’s push to control the narrative is seen as fear that Russians may revolt if they find out the truth about Ukraine’s invasion. Reports said that Russians are being fed propaganda since the war started, including that soldiers are being sent to Ukraine to fight Nazis.

Russian media have been instructed to publish only information provided by official sources, which describe the invasion as a military operation. This means, without independent media, the Kremlin will determine what Russians know about the war.

Like other independent media in Russia, Ekho Mosvky – a liberal-leaning radio station majority-owned by Russia’s energy giant Gazprom, said Thursday it would shut down after being taken off air over its Ukraine war coverage.

Ekho Moskvy website was blocked on Tuesday as punishment for spreading “deliberately false information” about the conflict. Its editor-in-chief Alexei Venediktov said on Telegram Friday that the station will be deleting its website and social media accounts to protect journalists.

A media war has just started as the US, UK and the EU push to limit Russian propaganda and Russia is pushing to ensure that the majority of Russians hear only its version of the story.

The development deals further blow to Meta’s revenue crisis that started early in the year. Facebook’s lost about 30% of its shares, wiping over $250 billion off its market capitalization. Far more than Twitter with about 10 million users in Russia, Facebook has about 66 million users in Russia, according to data tracking firm Statista. The social media giant earned $19.68 per user in Europe last year, according to the company’s annual report. This means, Facebook will lose about $3.6 million per day or $1.3 billion per year in Russia due to the ban.