USAGM condemns Kremlin’s increasing censorship, responds to a surge in demand for reporting from its networks – USAGM

USAGM condemns Kremlin’s increasing censorship, responds to a surge in demand for reporting from its networks

March 5, 2022

Despite the Russian government’s attempted censorship of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), there has been a surge in demand for their content, including their collaborative 24/7 Russian-language channel Current Time. In response, USAGM is expanding program delivery and access with the addition of more affiliate stations in and around Russia and the help of the Open Technology Fund’s tools and resources to circumvent internet censorship.   

“It is clear that by restricting access to RFE/RL and VOA’s fact-based reporting, the Kremlin hopes to keep its own citizens in the dark and to hide the truth,” said Kelu Chao, USAGM’s Acting CEO. “The people of Russia deserve to know the facts about their government’s attacks on Ukraine and how the world is reacting. USAGM will continue to use its resources to bring unbiased information to light at this crucial time.”  

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said, “RFE/RL journalists in Russia have been unfairly slurred as ‘foreign agents,’ detained, and now their accurate reporting about an unpopular war is being blocked. RFE/RL remains committed to delivering objective reporting from inside of Russia for the Russian people despite these outrageous attempts to censor the truth.” Read RFE/RL’s full press release at this link. 

Acting VOA Director Yolanda López said, “The recent threat by the Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor to block VOA and other independent media outlets now is a reality for many in our audience there. Our viewers and listeners in Russia deserve access to our factual news content at this critical time, not only about the ongoing war in Ukraine, but also about all vital global events that impact their lives and actions. VOA will continue to promote and support tools and resources that will allow our audiences to bypass any blocking efforts imposed on our sites in Russia. Our journalists will continue their reporting, an example of free press in action.” Read VOA’s full press release at this link. 

Some radio, digital, and direct-to-home satellite transmissions continue to reach Russian audiences, and demand for VOA and RFE/RL’s coverage is intensifying. For example, between February 24 and March 3, Current Time videos were viewed more than 240 million times across digital platforms. In addition, since Russia’s invasion, demand for Current Time content has increased dramatically among broadcast partners in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Estonia, and Bulgaria. With the increase over last week, there are 261 affiliates now distributing Current Time content. Between February 26 and March 5, Current Time videos have been viewed on Facebook 76 million times, while VOA’s Russian Service and RFE/RL’s Russian Service videos were each viewed about 8 million times.

From February 23 to March 2, VOA’s Russian Service reported nearly 17 million video views on social platforms, a 159% increase from the week before, while website traffic soared 146%. From February 23 to March 1, audiences viewed RFE/RL videos 436 million times on Facebook, 305 million times on YouTube, and 83 million times on Instagram – reflecting increases of 265%, 406%, and 185%, respectively, over the previous week.

RFE/RL condemns latest Kremlin threats as “political censorship” – USAGM

RFE/RL condemns latest Kremlin threats as “political censorship”

February 5, 2022

Washington, D.C. — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) strongly condemns a sharp escalation of intimidation tactics by Russian authorities, which saw state media-monitoring agency Roskomnadzor overnight threaten to block eight RFE/RL websites serving audiences in Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asia unless they pulled down articles tied to corruption investigations by jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny’s team.

RFE/RL will not comply with these demands. Said President and CEO Jamie Fly, “RFE/RL will not allow the Kremlin to dictate our editorial decisions. This is a blatant act of political censorship by a government apparently threatened by journalists who are merely reporting the truth.”

Roskomnadzor sent more than 60 e-mail notifications giving RFE/RL 24 hours to remove content related to Navalny investigations from its two largest websites for Russian audiences – Radio Liberty and Current Time – as well as RFE/RL’s Russian-language sites for Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, and local sites for Russia’s Siberian, Volga-Ural, and Northwestern regions.

More than a dozen Russian publications, including the Newspaper Novaya Gazeta, as well as Dozhd television channel and Ekho Moskvy radio station, have received similar notices in recent days. Several decided to comply with the demands and removed the content. The move is the latest in a series of attacks against RFE/RL and other independent media and comes as RFE/RL has been extensively covering the unprecedented Russian military buildup for its audiences in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, rebutting Kremlin disinformation and exposing malign Russian activities.

In the past year, Roskomnadzor has issued 1,040 violations against RFE/RL that will result in fines of more than $13.4 million for its refusal to submit to the unjust and invasive content labeling provisions of Russia’s “foreign agent” law. RFE/RL continues to fight these fines in Russian court and has also filed suit with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the law. In addition, 18 RFE/RL journalists have been designated as individual “foreign agents.”

On January 26, RFE/RL’s Russian Service was fined 3 million rubles ($39,000) for the alleged “public distribution of knowingly false information about the activities of the U.S.S.R. during World War II.” In fact, the existence of the published material is backed by documents from Russian archives – and RFE/RL is being held liable for actions that are not punishable under Russian law. RFE/RL is appealing the fine, not least to help defend Russia’s shrinking space for press freedom.

In a sign that the crackdown on press freedom may yet intensify, President Putin in late January issued an order calling for the creation of a new “register of toxic content.”

About RFE/RL

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — radio, Internet, television, and mobile — reach influential audiences in 23 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through USAGM.

RFE/RL condemns latest Kremlin threats as “political censorship” – USAGM

RFE/RL condemns latest Kremlin threats as “political censorship”

February 4, 2022

Washington, D.C. — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) strongly condemns a sharp escalation of intimidation tactics by Russian authorities, which saw state media-monitoring agency Roskomnadzor overnight threaten to block eight RFE/RL websites serving audiences in Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asia unless they pulled down articles tied to corruption investigations by jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny’s team.

RFE/RL will not comply with these demands. Said President and CEO Jamie Fly, “RFE/RL will not allow the Kremlin to dictate our editorial decisions. This is a blatant act of political censorship by a government apparently threatened by journalists who are merely reporting the truth.”

Roskomnadzor sent more than 60 e-mail notifications giving RFE/RL 24 hours to remove content related to Navalny investigations from its two largest websites for Russian audiences – Radio Liberty and Current Time – as well as RFE/RL’s Russian-language sites for Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, and local sites for Russia’s Siberian, Volga-Ural, and Northwestern regions.

More than a dozen Russian publications, including the newspaper Novaya gazeta, as well as Dozhd television channel and Ekho Moskvy radio station, have received similar notices in recent days. Several decided to comply with the demands and removed the content. The move is the latest in a series of attacks against RFE/RL and other independent media and comes as RFE/RL has been extensively covering the unprecedented Russian military buildup for its audiences in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, rebutting Kremlin disinformation and exposing malign Russian activities.

In the past year, Roskomnadzor has issued 1,040 violations against RFE/RL that will result in fines of more than $13.4 million for its refusal to submit to the unjust and invasive content labeling provisions of Russia’s “foreign agent” law. RFE/RL continues to fight these fines in Russian court and has also filed suit with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the law. In addition, 18 RFE/RL journalists have been designated as individual “foreign agents.”

On January 26, RFE/RL’s Russian Service was fined 3 million rubles ($39,000) for the alleged “public distribution of knowingly false information about the activities of the U.S.S.R. during World War II.” In fact, the existence of the published material is backed by documents from Russian archives – and RFE/RL is being held liable for actions that are not punishable under Russian law. RFE/RL is appealing the fine, not least to help defend Russia’s shrinking space for press freedom.

In a sign that the crackdown on press freedom may yet intensify, President Putin in late January issued an order calling for the creation of a new “register of toxic content.”

About RFE/RL

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — radio, Internet, television, and mobile — reach influential audiences in 23 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through USAGM.