Russia is afraid of the “truth”: this is how the media ban in the EU is assessed
“Anyone who tries to read ZEIT or FAZ in Russia in the future will have problems: the Russian government bans access to many EU media” – with this title, an editorial was published in the German publication “Zeit”, which, among many other media, was included in Russia’s sanctions list.
We are already reported, that the government of the aggressor country announced the blocking of access to 81 mass media of the European Union on the territory of the Russian Federation. In this material, we reveal the broader context of information sanctions of the Russian Federation against European mass media.
In the conditions of a hybrid war, control over the information space becomes as important as traditional military operations. The aggressor country insists on this in the “Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation”, implements it in statements and actions aimed at destabilizing the political and economic situation in our country.
Media as part of hybrid warfare
At the same time, the Kremlin fanatically protects its information field, forbidding everything that can have a detrimental effect on the cheer-patriotic mood of citizens and open their eyes to the real course of events in the war. Deformation of the media space is caused by unsolved murders of journalists, arrests of media workers without valid reasons, often while performing their professional duties. This also includes passing laws that limit freedom of speech and criminalize the activities of independent journalists, including charges of spreading “fake news” or “extremism.” The government closes down independent mass media or revokes their licenses based on various “intentions”, passes laws that criminalize independent journalism. All these measures also apply to foreign journalists.
Among the latest innovations is the ban on the content of various press centers from approximately 25 EU countries. These include El Mundo and El País from Spain, La Stampa, La Repubblica and RAI from Italy, as well as Le Monde, Libération, Radio France and the AFP news agency from France. As for Austria, the public broadcaster ORF and the Austrian media group have been “cancelled” here. The German-French TV company Arte was also included in the list of banned media. France has become the EU state that has suffered the most “informational sanctions” from Russia.
Moscow stated that the “affected” mass media “systematically spread false information” about the “special military operation”. And in this way they fight against misinformation. This step was preceded by the ban of four Russian state media in the EU. In May, the European Union blocked the Voice of Europe, the RIA Novosti news agency, and the publications Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta, accusing them of spreading Russian propaganda. We remind you that this is not the first such ban by the EU. In the first months of the war, he revoked the licenses of a number of mass media controlled by the Russian state – Sputnik, Russia Today and Rossiya-1.
In turn, Russia banned the work of many independent foreign and domestic broadcasters. The Kremlin accused these media outlets of spreading “propaganda” and “extremist” views.
How the “affected” mass media reacted
The managers of the sanctioned media were unanimous in their assessment of the Russian initiative: it only proves that they are doing their job well, reliably informing the public about the war in Ukraine. As you know, all information that contradicts the Kremlin’s narrative is called “false information” by Moscow. Therefore, the so-called “proportional countermeasures” of the Russian Federation are politically motivated.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said “this is yet another sign of the Russian government’s persecution of the press because it fears its own people will learn the truth about its actions.”
Edition Spiegel wrote indignantly, that “Russia is now concerned not only with revenge, but also with making it even more difficult for its own population to access Western information, which it is increasingly limiting. This applies, in particular, to the ability to read independent Russian mass media.
France 24 reported, that “the ban on European media comes a day before the start of the trial of American journalist Evan Hershkovich, accused of espionage, a high-profile case marked by accusations between the governments of Russia and the United States.
The Italian Foreign Ministry said that the Russian decision “is a decision that does not erase or mitigate the consequences of a violent, destructive and illegal war.”
French edition Le Mond quoted of the Czech European Commissioner: “Propaganda media, which are financed by Russia to spread disinformation within the framework of Russia’s military doctrine, do not look like independent media. Democratic countries know this.”
The press freedom index is all the way down
Even before the war, press freedom in Russia was in a critical situation. Since Vladimir Putin first became president in 2000, the state of the media space has been steadily deteriorating. In 2024, Russia ranked 162 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index.
Shutting down independent media and blocking websites became part of a comprehensive censorship policy. “Reporters without borders” note: the freedom of the press all over the world is threatened by the very people who should be its guarantors – the political authorities.
It is worth noting that blocked sites in Russia are still accessible using VPN services. These services encrypt users’ online traffic and hide their location.