Disinfo: Removal of YouTube accounts from LNR and DNR violates freedom of information

Summary

The recent removal by some social media platforms of accounts run by Moscow-backed territories in Eastern Ukraine is a violation of the UN-backed right for freedom of information.

Disproof

This is an unsubstantiated claim.

In reality, these accounts are disseminating disinformation, spreading false claims and propagating violence against Ukraine. Some of the blocked accounts are run by information facilities and police forces in the Moscow-backed territories of Donetsk and Luhansk Regions. This decision has nothing to do with clamping down on the right for freedom of information. YouTube terminated them for violating its Community Guidelines, which ban, among other things, hate speech.

Read a case about Russia’s closing Deutsche Welle's bureau in Moscow because of its alleged involvement in NATO propaganda and an article about pro-Kremlin media stoking tensions around Ukraine.

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tass.com (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 272
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 04/02/2022
  • Article language(s) English
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: Freedom of speech, Donbas, War in Ukraine
see more

Disinfo: Kyiv is persistently sabotaging the Minks agreements

Kyiv is persistently sabotaging the implementation of the Minsk agreements on which the settlement in Ukraine is based.

Feb 03, 2022
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that Ukraine is not willing to implement the Minsk and Normandy agreements, and Ukraine's position is the only obstacle on the way to the peace process in Donbas.

These claims are part of an ongoing disinformation campaign about Russia’s military build-up on the border with Ukraine. By shifting the blame on Ukraine, this disinformation story aims to deny any Russian responsibility for the situation.

Disinfo: The West wants to turn Ukrainians against Russians

Ukrainians should not succumb to the provocations of the West which wants to turn them against the Russians.

Feb 03, 2022
Disproof

This is a particular case of a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets claiming that the war in Donbas and the ensuing confrontation between Russia and Ukraine was triggered by the West.

These claims are part of an ongoing disinformation campaign about Russia’s military buildup on the border with Ukraine. By accusing the West of being the driving force behind the escalation of tensions, this disinformation story aims to deny any Russian responsibility for the situation.

Disinfo: Transit ban on Belarusian fertilisers is a Lithuanian act of hybrid aggression against Minsk

The decision of the Lithuanian authorities to ban the transit of Belarusian fertilisers is illegal. It is an act of hybrid aggression against Minsk.

Feb 03, 2022
Disproof

Disinformation around sanctions and the West waging a so-called hybrid war.

Lithuania began the process of banning the transit of Belarusian fertilisers at the end of 2021. It was made in support of US sanctions against Belarus and was a legal decision of the Lithuanian Government. Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonytė explained the purpose of the ban. “The decisions, which are being now implemented and, first of all, of course, apply to business entities, have the same goal Lithuania, as a state, has always agreed to, which is to ensure that authoritarian regimes have as little financial comfort as possible than they sometimes manage to achieve”, she said.