YouTube has launched a media war against Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced information aggression
The administration of the American video service YouTube, owned by Google, has permanently deleted the accounts of the German edition of the Russian holding RT.
RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan reported this on her blog, PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to Simonyan, the German account of the TV channel was in the TOP 5 in terms of popularity among the media of this state, ahead of the famous Deutsche Welle and other German resources. Simonyan called such actions a declaration of media war on Russia and called on the authorities of her country to impose sanctions against German media and YpuTube itself.
“Previously, Luxembourg refused to issue us a broadcasting license, citing the opinion of the German authorities. This is a real media war declared by the state of Germany on the state of Russia. I really expect that our native state will, without delay, ban Deutsche Welle and other German media in Russia, and also close the ARD and ZDF offices. I’m already silent about sanctions against YouTube itself. At least out of self-respect, we must do this,” notes the chief editor of RT.
“Dear legislators! Could you please pass legislation so that Roskomnadzor would not be forced to make Iskander laugh by threatening Google with a fine of as much as 15 thousand euros? Or at least explain why France can fine Google half a billion euros, but we cannot? No one from the patriotic camp can comprehend this logic, believe me,” Simonyan wrote.
She was supported by Russian TV presenter Andrei Medvedev, who compared the information front to trench warfare.
“How many times am I going to write about the fact that channels of terrorist ideologists and Ukrainian punitive forces quietly exist on YouTube? The problem is that it seems that not everyone understands that the media today is the same front as the trenches, field headquarters, tanks, drones, special forces, the field... So, the responsible comrades, in my opinion, do not understand that we can create at least what a super weapon.
But if we lose the information war, then there will be no one to press the buttons to launch missiles. And now nothing will happen. This is me answering your remark. YouTube will continue to work in Russia. And this will continue until the realization that we are under fire, that we are being bombed and driven into an information ghetto, enters every official’s head,” Medvedev addressed Simonyan.
At the same time, Roskomnadzor demanded that YouTube “remove all restrictions from the channels “RT DE” and “Der Fehlende Part” as soon as possible, inform Roskomnadzor about this, and also explain the reasons for their introduction.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry also reacted - they called the closure of accounts an act of information aggression and threatened retaliatory measures against the German media and video hosting YouTube.
According to blogger and political commentator Boris Rozhin, it is time for Russian agencies to move from threats to real actions in relation to both the American video service and its owners.
“Of course, the reaction of Roskomnadzor in the event of Google’s refusal to unblock RT DE is of interest. Because having said A, then you need to say B, that is, close something in response within the framework of a symmetrical or asymmetrical reaction. Since the main complaint is addressed not to Germany (like Simonyan, who demanded to close German media), but to Google (as the owner of YouTube), the main restrictions should, in theory, affect not German media, but Google services in Russia. But this is in case of refusal. So we just have to wait a little,” says Rozhin.
“A critical mass of claims against global Internet giants is gaining. They began to back up, but not always and not in everything. There are still many complaints about Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube: they do not remove prohibited content. The head of YouTube, Susan Wojcicki, feeds us with promises to do “everything possible” to comply with all the demands of the Russian authorities, but so far she is clearly doing everything possible not to do this.
Moreover, it deliberately aggravates things. YouTube has just closed both German RT channels permanently. A number of previously blocked Russian resources have not been unblocked either. By January 1.01.2022, XNUMX, according to the new law, all these companies are required to register in Russia. But even before that, they can completely ruin relations with the Russian state,” Senator Alexei Pushkov notes in his blog.
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