{"id":197073,"date":"2026-07-24T12:11:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T09:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/197073\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T12:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T09:12:12","slug":"comrade-major-is-watching-belarus-tightens-grip-on-tiktok-and-threads","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/197073\/","title":{"rendered":"Comrade major is watching: Belarus tightens grip on TikTok and Threads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Belarus\u2019 Investigative Committee has launched criminal investigations into posts on TikTok and Threads, apparently targeting popular social media users critical of the government.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n (Jakson Martins, RALPH_GERMANY (pixabay.com) \/ Pozirk' collage)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two weeks ago, the Investigative Committee said it would closely monitor Threads and TikTok amid a rise in what it called \u201cdestructive\u201d posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 20, Alaksandar Suchadolski, a spokesman for the agency, said in a televised interview that the Committee had brought charges against users over posts \u201cinciting social hatred.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The charge has frequently been used since the 2020 postelection protests to silence government critics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was among the charges brought by law enforcement agencies against Siarhiej Cichano\u016dski, an opposition politician who challenged Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka in the 2020 presidential election but was arrested shortly before the registration of candidates. Cichano\u016dski was eventually sentenced to 18 years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two major social networks in Belarus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TikTok is the most popular social network among Belarusians, with as many as 7.64 million users aged 18 and older, according to the Digital 2026 report by DataReportal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Threads has about 533,000 users, but the number is steadily rising. The platform is more focused on politics, with many analysts, journalists and civil society activists involved in discussions of sociopolitical issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lessons learned from 2020<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Suchadolski, the Investigative Committee spokesman, said his agency had turned its sights on TikTok and Threads because \u201cpeople believe, for some reason, that no legal norms apply\u201d to these social networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interior ministry issued a similar warning to social media users. This week, for example, it reported that police had identified an exiled activist who allegedly made \u201cinsulting\u201d and defamatory statements about Va\u016dkavysk police officers and \u201cincited hatred.\u201d Interior Minister Ivan Kubrako\u016d told police officers on July 23 that all \u201cinsulting\u201d posts about police must be investigated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the 2020 postelection protests, the Belarusian authorities have treated any criticism of the Belarusian leader and officials as insults and hate speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critical bloggers were a top priority for security forces during the government\u2019s crackdown on protesters. Later, police began imprisoning people for comments and likes on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protesters used social media and messaging applications to organize and coordinate their activities. Since then, the police and the Committee for State Security (KGB) have monitored social media to crack down promptly on any forms of self-organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notably, the latest attack on Threads began with heavy fire from the propaganda media. The Minsk-based newspaper Minskaja Pra\u016dda<\/em> published an article headlined \u201cDiagnosis \u2013 Threads as a Platform for Those Who Always Grumble Has Become a Source of Worry for the State.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of addressing the causes of public discontent, the government prefers to persecute those unhappy with its policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article, which proposed blocking TikTok and Threads, was reprinted by many government-controlled district newspapers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moscow, Minsk use different methods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Calls by propaganda officials to shut down social media are not new. This spring, propagandists urged the government to block YouTube after it removed content from several state-run media outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information Minister D\u017amitryj \u017duk said then that YouTube would not be blocked because it had become a customary tool for Belarusians. Authorities were not only afraid of angering the public but also did not want to deprive state media of a tool of influence. \u201cLeaving the platform, which our citizens use extensively, would not be a good decision,\u201d \u017duk said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Belarus does not have a viable alternative to YouTube. Videobel, a similar Belarusian platform, has been largely ignored by the public. Migrating to Russian services is also not a good option amid Belarus\u2019 growing dependence on Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, the Belarusian regime is taking a different approach to social media than Moscow, although both seek to tighten their control over information flows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia simply blocks social media and messaging applications it considers destructive, whereas Belarus monitors accounts and declares content critical of the government \u201cextremist\u201d and bans its distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk has not yet blocked any social media platform entirely. For this reason, Russians consider Belarus a digital paradise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Information Minister \u017duk warned that if any media outlet poses a threat to state security, \u201cno one will even hesitate\u201d [to block it].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, if Belarus faces an economic crisis or the Belarusian army enters the war, Minsk could promptly copy Russia\u2019s \u201cadvanced\u201d methods of total control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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