Since invading Ukraine the Russian government has tightened its control of media coming in and out of their motherland. They can’t have their citizens learning how they’ve been bamboozled by an all-too-powerful mad man. Being accused of promoting “extremism” aimed directly at Russia, Facebook and Instagram have been given the Putin punt.
It doesn’t stop there. Russian employees of either platform are now subject to arrest for crimes against the state. Alphabet Inc’s Google got off with a warning to stop using YouTube to spread lies. They’ll allow the platform to continue for now but they’re watching closely with one hand on the plug.
The Russians recently passed a law against spreading “fake” international news which carries a stiff penalty of 15 years for anyone contributing in the least of ways to its distribution.
To no avail, the Russian government has been pressuring Facebook and Instagram to allow them full control of both platforms’ content by letting them determine what’s acceptable.
Despite the fines Russia’s levied against his company Meta, Zuckerboy keeps saying no way. The only option left for the Russians was to cut the cord since not one U.S.-based company gives a crap about helping Putin fulfill his dreams.
An attorney for Meta said Russia is out of line since they have no authority over a foreign-registered company. Even their employees in Russia are paid from foreign funds. But does the attorney understand who he’s dealing with? Putin makes his own laws.
Putin got himself in a pickle due to worldwide condemnation over the Ukraine invasion. What he was telling his people ran contradictory to international news reports. To target his opposition Vlad conveniently created an “extremist” law with him being the sole definer of the term.
The law’s come in quite handy for silencing the unfortunates when poison fails to do the job. Reference the very much alive but imprisoned Alexi Navalny whose whereabouts present a question that won’t be answered.
The final corncob up Putin’s butt was when Facebook stopped throwing its users in FB jail for suggesting constructive ways to ‘terminate’ the problem forever. Now they’re plotting Black Ops missions.
At the same time, Ukrainian users of the platform were given the green light to tell the world what they were seeing and to even make calls for violence against the invading Russians and their pathetic lying leader.
Since the invasion, Silicon Valley has ignored pressure from the Kremlin to allow them better control of the media. Instead, companies in the valley responded by blocking certain Russian state-controlled media outlets they had access to. Well played.
The Russians have had their hands full trying to block every independent news channel in the world from crossing their border. The number of them is insurmountable. Besides the fact that Ukrainian citizens are allowing captured, or surrendering, Russian soldiers to call their moms while filling their bellies full of homemade dumplings, words getting out.
No different than the Democrat/Republican divide here in the U.S., Russian citizens are divided. Putin still has a sizeable fan club from what little is allowed to be known or seen. But it’s also been rumored that people are forced to attend the events he’ll allow to be publicized.
Putin may attempt to advance his Army beyond Ukraine but it’ll be his final attempt at anything. China will watch with glee as the free world reduces the former Soviet Union into a barren uninhabitable wasteland. All because of one man. That in and of itself is an astounding thought worth giving a ponder.
