Information ministry banned 18,000 media and accounts, minister says

June 6, Pozirk. The Belarusian information ministry has restricted access to 18,000 media outlets and social media accounts, Minister Marat Markaŭ told reporters at a pro-government media forum in Homiel.

The “information war” has intensified as evidenced by the growing number of “extremist sources” and the sophisticated “information destabilization methods,” he said, as quoted by the state media, noting that the ministry has labeled nearly 7,000 accounts “extremist content.”

Access was restricted to more than 3,150 accounts in 2024 alone, he said. “And we have already reached this figure over the five months of 2025,” he added.

Alaksandar Łukašenka’s regime has cracked down on the independent media, blaming critics for instigating mass protests against election fraud after the 2020 presidential election. Belarus holds about 40 journalists in prison, while many journalists fled the country and now work in exile.

Stories run by the independent media, as well as its activities, are routinely labeled as “extremist.” Cooperation with extremist outlets is a crime.

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