(New York, N.Y. )–Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the KremlinEcho Moskvy and lone remaining independent television channel TV Rain seeing their broadcasts muted and their websites taken down, state controlled media is left with free rein to fill the information void with its tightly monitored messaging,
“The years-long effort by the Kremlin to replace facts with propaganda, deny its citizens access to truthful information, and repress critiques and organized opposition is culminating with this sweeping, systematic attack on the remaining vestiges of independent media in the country,” said Nadine Farid Johnson, Washington Director at PEN America. “The fact is that Russia’s disinformation campaigns are not only external, but also affect everyday Russians, whose access to anything but Putin’s own false narrative is severely curtailed. We must not forget that authoritarianism starts at home. The dismantling of any semblance of a free press, in addition to the unimpeded quashing of dissent no matter the form, is Putin’s way of crushing his own citizenry even as he conducts an onslaught against innocent Ukrainians.”