Russian citizens are increasingly rejecting state-run media and looking to independent news reports for information about the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Hill, Russian government officials are working to censor the work of independent journalists within both Russia and Ukraine and are trying to distort the events and facts behind the invasion, as well as to further justify it.
The BBC, one of Europe’s largest news outlets, tallied figures showing that recent traffic coming from inside Russia regarding the invasion has skyrocketed.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie said this week that "it’s often said truth is the first casualty of war. In a conflict where disinformation and propaganda is rife, there is a clear need for factual and independent news people can trust — and in a significant development, millions more Russians are turning to the BBC."
Russian state-run media outlets, such as Russia Today and Sputnik, have been parroting talking points from Russian President Vladimir Putin, such as attempting to paint Russian forces as "liberators" conducting "special military operations" inside Ukraine and "denazifying" Ukraine’s government.
The outlets were also allegedly not allowed to use words such as "invasion" and "war" when describing the situation in Ukraine.
Russia has allegedly been making work much more difficult for reporters inside Ukraine as well. Kyiv Post Editor-in-Chief Bohdan Nahaylo told CNN about a suspected cyberattack on the outlet by Russia, saying that "we were getting huge hits that were incapacitating our systems.
Then the other problem was that fear and uncertainty affected the staff. ... Obviously they had families, and some decided to leave, and so they were evacuating and stuck in traffic. Some were in bomb shelters. It was a logistical nightmare created by both the missile strikes, people not being in their places as a result, the system not functioning, and it being much more difficult to communicate amongst one another."
International news outlet Voice of America (VOA) said that Russia media regulator Roskomnadzor threatened to block the Russian-language website in the country if it does not stop covering the invasion of Ukraine. Acting VOA Director Yolanda López responded that "any attempts to interfere with the free flow of news and information are deeply troubling. We find this order to be in direct opposition to the values of all democratic societies."
Meanwhile, hundreds have been arrested in recent days throughout Russia for protesting the invasion.