There could be a massive penalty for faking it in Russia. The lower house of parliament there passed a law that will punish media outlets engaging in “fake news” with up to 15 years in prison. And monetary fines.
In a nutshell, if a reporter or media outlet spreads false information about the military or public calls for sanctions against Russia, the judicial system is going to lay down the law, with prison sentences up to 15 years.
The Moscow Times reports that the bill is supposedly in place to penalize people who “history the purpose, role, and tasks of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as other units during special military and other operations.”
Oh, reporting about any losses on the battlefield by Russian forces will also get you arrested.
Here’s what the chairman of Russia’s State Duma legislative body told Reuters.
“Literally by tomorrow, this law will force punishment — and very tough punishment — on those who lied and made statements which discredited our armed forces.”
Not exactly what they teach in American university journalism classes.
The Russian government seems to be much more interested in their version of what’s going on, as they’ve cracked down on social platforms and news outlets since invading Ukraine and disputed death reports that are much higher than what they report in their “special military operation.”
The BBC is pulling their journalists out of Russia just to be safe.
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