Disinfo: OSCE wants internet in Belarus be full of terrorists and anarchists

Summary

The OSCE representative wants to make a stinking garbage out of the Belarusian segment of internet, and to turn it into a place full of extremists, terrorists and anarchists. The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, paid a three-day visit to Belarus. The visit’s aim was to demonstrate how bad the things are with Belarus’ media sphere. Désir called on Belarusian authorities to reconsider existing measures that tighten state control of the internet. He urged to refrain from mandatory authentication of users posting online and praised the users’ right for anonymity. In other words, the OSCE Representative wants to make a stinking garbage out of the Belarusian segment of internet, and to turn it into a place full of extremists, terrorists and anarchists.

Disproof

No evidence given. Excessive state control over the internet in Belarus and other media issues were raised by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir in his meetings with the Belarusian authorities with the aim to define the contours of reforms necessary for developing a more favourable and pluralistic media environment. From 1 December 2018 amendments into the Belarusian law “On mass media” entered into effect which provide for mandatory identification of users of Internet resources, including commentators, as well as on the forums. The new regulation was criticized by the UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus and human rights advocates as excessive and not corresponding to international standards.

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  • Reported in: Issue 144
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 25/03/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Russian, Belarusian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Belarus
  • Keywords: Internet, Conspiracy theory, Terrorism
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