Facebook, multiple media sites partially down in Russia

Facebook and several media websites were partially inaccessible in Russia on Friday as authorities cracked down on critical voices and clashes in Ukraine.

AFP journalists in Moscow were unable to access Facebook, as well as the media sites Meduza, Deutsche Welle, RFE-RL and the BBC’s Russian-language service. Monitoring NGO GlobalCheck also said the sites were partially down.

On its Telegram account, the independent outlet Meduza said that its site was no longer available to “some of its users” in Russia, but added that it had not received notification from the authorities about a block.

Since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last week, Russian authorities have stepped up pressure on independent media, even though press freedom in the country was already rapidly declining.

Earlier this week, Russia’s prosecutor general ordered the country’s media watchdog to “restrict access” to the liberal Ekho Moskvy radio station and the independent Dozhd TV channel.

Those closures were due to the media’s refusal to follow the official line on the war in Ukraine.

According to the Kremlin, the action in neighbouring Ukraine is a military operation, not an invasion, designed to protect Russia from the West and Russian-speakers from “genocide.”

Dozens of workers and media outlets, including Dozhd, have recently been designated as “foreign agents” by the authorities.

A term with Soviet-era nuances, the state forces those affected by the label to disclose funding sources and label posts, including social media posts, with a label or face fines.

A bill that provides for up to 15 years in prison for any publication of “fake news” about the Russian armed forces will be considered in the Duma during an extraordinary session on Friday. (TheGuardian)