DISINFO: Foreign media in Russia are not restricted
SUMMARY
Restrictive measures against foreign media have not been applied in Russia.
RESPONSE
According to the Freedom House Report ''Freedom on the Net 2018'', Russians are still able to access a wide variety of foreign sources, but many independent online media outlets within Russia have been forced to shut down in recent years due to increasing government pressure. The Russian authorities censor a wide range of topics online, most often under the pretext of combating “extremism”. Content subject to blacklisting or removal includes LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) expression, information on the conflict in Ukraine, and material related to the political opposition. Russia has been rated 149th out of 180 countries for press freedom, according to an annual index published by international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF). More disinformation cases about media freedom in Russia are available here.