Russia on Tuesday i.e 15th August placed a hefty fine on social media site Reddit for the first time for not deleting “banned content” that supposedly contained “fake” information about Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, RIA reported on Tuesday, citing a Moscow court.
Reddit has now climbed up to the ranks of sites under scrutiny in Russia for failing to remove content that Moscow deems illegal, including Wikimedia, streaming service Twitch, and Google. RIA said the court had fined Reddit 2 million roubles ($20,365 or roughly Rs. 16 lakh). Reddit did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Also on Tuesday, the Russian court fined the Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, 2 million roubles, for failing to delete “fakes” about what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine. Ever since the invasion of Ukraine last year, Russia has aimed to tighten controls over coverage of the conflict or any controversial issue by media and bloggers. They also introduced stricter punishments for “discrediting” the actions of its armed forces or publishing false information about them.Wikimedia had previously states that the information on their site regarding Russian authorities was well-sourced and in line with Wikipedia standards. Wikipedia till now, remains one of the few surviving independent sources of information in Russia since a state crackdown on online content intensified after Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine.
Wikimedia has previously criticised the penalties as “part of an ongoing effort by the Russian government to limit the spread of reliable, well-sourced information in the country”. Russian sources are refraining from banning the site but continue to place hefty fines.
