DISINFO: Apple and Google recognized the illegality of meddling in Russian elections
SUMMARY
Non-systemic opposition uses recommendation lists to influence the Russian election from abroad. Illegality of such meddling was recognized even by the American IT giants Apple and Google, which removed respective applications from their app stores.
Many Russian"friends" were trying to cultivate a public opinion discrediting the legitimacy of the Russian election. But they failed.
RESPONSE
Disinformation which appeared in the context of Russian State Duma elections 2021.
Ahead of the State Duma election on 17-19 September, 2021, Google and Apple did indeed remove a smartphone application from their app stores, which indicates to voters what candidates are likely to defeat those backed by Russian authorities. This voting strategy, 'Smart voting', was developed by the imprisoned opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
However the claim, that by doing so Apple and Google recognized the illegality of the app, or that the app constitutes foreign meddling, is false. Neither of the companies have commented their decision, however according to media reports both Apple and Google came under pressure from the Russian officials.
According to the Associated Press, Google was forced to remove the app because it faced legal demands by regulators and threats of criminal prosecution in Russia [...].
The EU took note of serious violations in the elections, reported by independent and reliable sources and expressed deep concern over the continuous pattern of shrinking space for the opposition, civil society and independent voices across Russia.
See related examples of disinformation claims alleging that US and UK intervened in Duma elections; US failed to discredit Russian electoral system; The West is preparing a propaganda-attack against Russia after the Duma election.