Russia law threatens journalists with 15 years in prison for ‘fake’ news
Russia’s parliament passed a law Friday that criminalizes “fake” news — and carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years — for journalists who contradict the country’s official statements about the Ukraine invasion, according to officials and reports.
Under the law, which is set to go into effect Saturday, journalists face the potential whopping jail sentence for intentionally spreading “false” information — including using such words as “war” and “invasion” to describe the Russian attack.
Journalists also must verify their reports on the war with official Russian government sources.
Russia claims the “fake” news circulated by its enemies sows discord and divides its people, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“If the fakes lead to serious consequences, then imprisonment of up to 15 years threatens,” the lower house of parliament, known as the Duma in Russian, said in a statement.
Citizens who aren’t members of the media also face criminal charges and fines of up to $44,740 for reposting articles on social media that contradict or criticize the Kremlin’s depiction of the war, according to the paper.
The free-speech-stomping law prompted BBC News to pull all of its journalists out of Russia on Friday, with the broadcaster’s director-general Tim Davie proclaiming it “appears to criminalize the process of independent journalism.”
Other media companies, including Bloomberg, CNN, ABC News and CBS News, followed suit later Friday by dialing back their broadcasts from Russia.
“We have with great regret decided to temporarily suspend our news gathering inside Russia,” Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait said in a statement. “The change to the criminal code, which seems designed to turn any independent reporter into a criminal purely by association, makes it impossible to continue any semblance of normal journalism inside the country.”
Get the latest updates in the Russia-Ukraine conflict with The Post’s live coverage.
Meanwhile, reporters working for one of Russia’s last independent news outlets, TV Rain, were filmed silently marching out of its office after Russian officials took them off the air in an effort to stop criticism of the Ukraine invasion.
“No to war,” said Natalia Sindeyeva, one of the channel’s founders, said as she walked out of the building.
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