2 yıl önce

Russia orders media outlets to delete Navalny-related content

Russia’s state internet regulator Roskomnadzor orders news outlets to delete content related to Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, according to liberal Russian editors and journalists.

Reuters

Leonid Volkov, Navalny's close associate who lives in exile, called on supporters to fight "censorship" in Russia and share the investigations online.

Several independent news outlets in Russia has said they had been ordered to delete content related to corruption investigations by Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny that probed lavish lifestyles among Kremlin elites.

The move is the latest against Russia's embattled media scene, where liberal editors and journalists have complained of mounting state pressure.

Prominent television network Dozhd and news website Meduza were among those to report they had been warned by the state communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, to delete reports or face being blocked.

The outlets said Russia’s state internet regulator Roskomnadzor's requests related to Navalny investigations into alleged graft perpetrated by Russian elites including President Vladimir Putin.

Navalny's team last January released an investigation into an opulent Black Sea property they claimed Russian oligarchs built for Putin.

The film has garnered more than 120 million views since its release.

Most media outlets said they had been obliged to comply and delete the content in question.

Roskomnadzor did not respond to a request for comment.

Fighting "censorship" in Russia

Leonid Volkov, Navalny's close associate who lives in exile, called on supporters to fight "censorship" in Russia and share the investigations online.

"Roskomnadzor demands that reality be changed, the internet cleaned up and facts cancelled," Volkov tweeted.

The media complaints are the latest in a string of moves from authorities that have put pressure on independent media and journalists in Russia.

Dozens of media workers and leading independent outlets have recently been designated "foreign agents".

A term with Soviet-era undertones, the status obliges those slapped with the label to disclose sources of funding and label publications - including social mediaposts - with a tag or face fines.

Last year Navalny's political organisations, including his anti-corruption group that probed graft, were designated extremist.

The opposition politician himself was arrested and jailed last February on old fraud charges.