Russia: Foreign News Channels Suspend Operations After Moscow's Stricter Media Rules Against 'Fake News'

Russian authorities have repeatedly said reports of Russian military setbacks or civilian deaths in Ukraine as fake news.

New Delhi: Many foreign news platforms like CNN, BBC, Voice of America will stop broadcasting from Russia after President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law that criminalises the intentional spreading of what Moscow deems to be fake reports.

The move intensifies the crackdown on media outlets and individuals who fail to cut down the Kremlin line on the war in Ukraine, The Associated Press reported.

After Moscow blocked Facebook & Twitter on Friday, it imposed blocks the BBC, the US government-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, and Latvia-based website Meduza.

Russian authorities have repeatedly decried reports of Russian military setbacks or civilian deaths in Ukraine as fake news. State media outlets refer to Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a special military operation rather than a war or an invasion. 

According to AP, the bill, quickly rubber-stamped by both houses of the Kremlin-controlled parliament and signed by Putin, imposes prison sentences of up to 15 years for those spreading information that goes against the Russian government's narrative on the war. The law envisages sentences of up to three years or fines for spreading what authorities deem to be false news about the military, but the maximum punishment rises to 15 years for cases deemed to have led to severe consequences.

Russia's top independent radio station Ekho Moskvy was closed on Thursday and independent TV station Dozdh suspended operations after receiving a threat of closure from the authorities.

The Russian government's blocks on foreign outlets are to control tightly what information the domestic audience receives over Ukraine's invasion.

In response, multiple outlets said they would pause their work inside Russia to evaluate the situation.

Among them, CNN said it would stop broadcasting in Russia while Bloomberg and the BBC said they would temporarily suspend the work of their journalists there, according to AP.

Meanwhile, BBC Director-General Tim Davie said the legislation appears to criminalize the process of independent journalism. According to AP, the safety of our staff is paramount and we are not prepared to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution simply for doing their jobs, he said. Davie said the BBC's Russian-language news service would continue to operate from outside Russia.

Earlier in the day, the BBC posted instructions on Twitter about how Russian readers could work around the block by using apps or the dark web.