Belarusian online media outlet Zerkalo.io blocked in Russia

March 9, BPN. Belarusian online media outlet Zerkalo.io was blocked in Russia.

“Now we are the only major Belarusian media outlet that is blocked in both Russia and Belarus,” Zerkalo.io reports.

The media outlet was blocked by decision of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office based on Article 15.3 of the federal law “On Information, Information Technology and Information Protection.” The decision was made on February 24, the day of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

Zerkalo.io was created in July 2021 by journalists of tut.by, the largest media outlet in Belarus, following its destruction by the authorities. Zerkalo.io journalists work abroad, focusing on Belarusian social and political content.

On May 18, 2021, the offices of tut.by, hoster.by and employees’ homes were searched. At the same time, the Ministry of Information blocked access to tut.by, arguing that the portal published information on behalf of unregistered organizations.

Currently, 13 tut.by employees remain in custody, including tut.by editor-in-chief Maryna Zolatava.

The Russian authorities have also blocked a number of foreign and Russian media, including Meduza, BBC, Deutsche Welle, Radio Liberty, Voice of America and Echo of Moscow radio stations, Dozhd TV channel and others for allegedly spreading “false information about the nature of the special military operation in Ukraine.”

Facebook (Meta Platforms) is also blocked in Russia. This happened after Facebook blocked access to the accounts of the Zvezda TV channel, RIA Novosti, Sputnik, Russia Today, Lenta.ru, and Gazeta.ru.

On March 4, Russian president Vladimir Putin signed the law on criminal punishment for “fakes about the Russian Armed Forces and calls for anti-Russian sanctions.”