Google News is now blocked in Russia over 'inauthentic' war coverage

Google News is now blocked in Russia over ‘inauthentic’ war coverage

Restrictions to freely available information in Russia continue to be rolled out by the country’s government, and the latest move blocks access to Google News for its citizens (viaReuters). Russia’s communications regulator accused the Google News service of providing access to false information on the country’s military operations in Ukraine.

Google confirmed its service had been restricted from March 23rd, which means the country’s citizens are now unable to access it. Google’s statement said, “We’ve confirmed that some people are having difficulty accessing the Google News app and website in Russia and that this is not due to any technical issues on our end. We’ve worked hard to keep information services like News accessible to people in Russia for as long as possible.”

According to news agencyInterfax, the Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor provided a statement that says, “The American online news resource in question provided access to numerous publications and materials containing inauthentic and publicly important information about the course of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine.”

Russia has continued limiting its citizen’s access to free information since the conflict began a month ago. Recently, the country hasbanned access to Facebook and Instagramwith a Moscow court ruling that Meta is guilty of “extremist activity.” Oddly, the company didn’t restrict Meta’s messaging service WhatsApp in the same move. Many in Russia are reportedlyrushing to download Wikipediaahead of an expected ban by Putin’s government in the coming weeks. Google News isn’t the first service to be restricted by Russia during this conflict, and it’s unlikely to be the last as the invasion of Ukraine continues into its second month.

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