(PresidentialHill.com)- The heads of American media outlets are being called to Russia to discuss Russia’s increased restrictions on the freedom of the press.
At the meeting, which Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday, the unnamed leaders will be invited to the ministry on Monday to discuss potential measures that could restrict access to the media in Russia. The response may result from a decision made by the United States to limit the reach of Russian media in the West because of their use of propaganda to justify the war in Ukraine.
A spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, said that If the work of the Russian media operators and journalists in the United States is not normalized, the most stringent measures will inevitably follow.
Zakharova said they will invite the heads of the Moscow offices of all American media to the press center of the Russian Foreign Ministry to explain to them the consequences of their government’s “hostile line in the media sphere.”
Since Russia decided to invade Ukraine, a significant clamp was placed on its media access. Since the beginning of the conflict, the European Union and the United Kingdom have taken legal action to restrict access to RT, which the Russian government operates.
Russia has accused the West of imposing unfair restrictions on its overseas media, and it has begun taking steps to restrict access to Western media. These steps include a measure passed last month that would allow Russian prosecutors to shut down a bureau if the host country is viewed as being “unfriendly” to Russian media.
Russia has also accused the West of imposing unfair restrictions on its domestic media. As a direct result of the adjustment to the protocol, at least one news organization, the Moscow bureau of the Canadian outlet CBC, was closed.
Moscow has also begun to enforce stringent “false news” laws, which threaten to put people in jail for up to 15 years if they spread information critical of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, authorities in eastern Russia obtained their first conviction under this law against a person who posted videos to a social media page.
How dare anyone imply that Russia is harsh and anything but a victim.
