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Google will remove RT News and Sputnik News from the Play Store, after removing Russian state outlets from its news features, following a similar move by Apple — Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google said on Tuesday that it has blocked mobile apps connected to RT and Sputnik from its Play store …
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Mediaite, TechCrunch, Wired, Polygon, Protocol and Silicon Republic, more at Techmeme »
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Spotify closes its office in Russia indefinitely, removes all content from RT News and Sputnik, and adds a guide on the platform to “trusted news” sources — Spotify has taken several steps in response to Russia's military attack on Ukraine, including closing its offices in Russia “indefinitely.”
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Billboard, The Wrap, Engadget, Rolling Stone, Reuters, Protocol, @yoyoel, TechCrunch and MediaPost


The EU officially bans Sputnik and five legal entities associated with RT; national regulators must ensure that the sanctions are enforced
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@laukaya, Next TV, consilium.europa.eu, Techdirt, @fabiochiusi, CNET, Euractiv, TechCrunch, Bloomberg and Politico

BBC stops all content licensing in Russia and requests the remaining episodes of two programs for which it sold rights are not aired on Russian state TV
Discussion:
(Ir)rational Politics and Wall Street Journal

DirecTV drops RT “effective immediately”, accelerating this year's contract expiration timeline; DirecTV and Dish are the only major US TV providers carrying RT
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Axios, Axios, The Verge, Reason, @billprady, @kantrowitz, @scottienhughes, @paulrieckhoff, @olganyc1211, @karlbode, @michaelsocolow, @brianstelter, @sarafischer, @jkarsh, UPROXX, Fox News, The Week, CNET, Mediaite, Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone and The Wrap

YouTube plans to block Russia-backed RT and Sputnik in the European Union and the UK, following similar bans by Meta and TikTok, citing the invasion of Ukraine
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@googleeurope, @broderick, The Banter, Engadget, @ggreenwald, @drewcurtis, @kolga, @carolecadwalla, @eliothiggins, insideradio.com, @americascomic, Music Ally, @ezralevant, @jeffjarvis, @tomwarren, @elilake, @yiannisbab, @hillelneuer, @eliothiggins, @christopherjm, @eliothiggins, @jessikkaaro, @jimwaterson, Vanity Fair, Reuters, Euractiv, Variety, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch, Insider, The Verge, Engadget and The Hollywood Reporter


Epic Games acquires Bandcamp, which will continue operating as a standalone marketplace and music community; Bandcamp has paid nearly $1B to artists and labels — I'm excited to announce that Bandcamp is joining Epic Games, who you may know as the makers of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, and champions for a fair and open Internet.
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The Verge, @bandcamp, Variety, Music Ally, CNET, @skatunenetwork, @ohboyrecords, PC Gamer, New York Times, @jubileedj, ScreenRant, @ricmac, @toadsanime, The A.V. Club, @ronmknox, Engadget, @mattetti, Protocol, @pathedger18, @katselesnya, @ronmknox, @marcissist, @theneedledrop, @vahn16, Input, Billboard, @mowtendoo, @dcseifert, @chronowolfmusic, @mowtendoo, @emmablackery, @acertainabbie, TechCrunch, @ronmknox, @gibiz, @jujuadams, @dada_drummer, @zoecello, @tedgioia, @future_of_music, @ronmknox, Tubefilter, @backxwash, @tha_rami, GOOD INTERNET, @loudmouthjulia, UPROXX, @rjcc, @punkrevnow, @danozzi, Bloomberg, AppleInsider, Polygon and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »


BBC says Russian invasion of Ukraine led to record audiences for its Russian and Ukrainian websites; BBC also launched two shortwave frequencies in the region — The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to record audiences for the BBC's Russian and Ukrainian language news service websites.
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The Hill, bbc.co.uk and @insidecablenews
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How Russia's war with Ukraine is playing out on Wikipedia; Russian Wikipedia editors decided to call an invasion what it is, rejecting the Kremlin's narrative — On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin issued the order for Russian forces to invade Ukraine. Since then, Russians …
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Input, @boomartins, @boomartins, @antisomniac, @lucyajmmoore, @lucyajmmoore, @hfordsa, @b_fung, American Press Institute, Engadget and Digital Threat Digest


Yevhenii Sakun, a camera operator for Ukrainian TV station LIVE, was killed Tuesday along with four other people when Russian forces shelled a TV tower in Kyiv — New York, March 2, 2022 - In response to reports that Ukrainian journalist Yevhenii Sakun was killed on Tuesday, March 1 …


Sources: Apollo Global is in talks with Australia-based PointsBet Holdings and other sports betting companies about merging their assets with Yahoo Sports — - Apollo Global is considering merging Yahoo Sports with a sports betting company, sources say. — A deal could set …
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@sherman4949, @richlightshed, @sherman4949, @thedomino, @jgsventures, @yoda, @jacobfeldman4, @adamlevitan, @butlerbets and @loudmouthjulia


Amazon plans to close 68 brick-and-mortar retail locations across the US and the UK, including all of its Amazon Books, 4-star, and Pop Up stores — - Amazon plans to close all locations of its Pop Up, Amazon Books and 4-star stores, the company confirmed to CNBC.
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Reuters, The Wrap, New York Times, CNET, TechCrunch, The Information, Crain's New York Business, Insider, Protocol, @booksmith, GeekWire, The Verge, New York Post, Engadget, @richontech, @jasonshen, @andrewlapin, @paulconstant, @mariskreizman, @gregbensinger, @quinnypig, @elkmovie, @kyweise, @paperhaus and Cracked Bowl, more at Techmeme »


Netflix acquires Finnish mobile game developer Next Games for ~$72M; the studio specializes in games based on entertainment franchises, such as Stranger Things — Next Games had released ‘Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales’, a role-playing game based on the streaming giant's hit 80s horror drama series in October last year.
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Variety, Next Games, The Streamable, CNET, UPROXX, Tubefilter, @zhugeex, Los Angeles Times, @brandolightshed, Next TV, Bloomberg, Tech.eu and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »


Journalists from TV Rain, also known as Dozhd, leave Russia after employees received threats and the country set up a digital roadblock of the network — New York (CNN Business)Journalists from the last remaining independent news network in Russia have left the country for their own safety …
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@cliffordlevy, @brianstelter and Reuters


BuzzFeed Studios and podcast company Acast strike a multiyear deal to collaborate on six shows, with Acast leading production, distribution, and monetization — The studio and podcast company will work together on a slate of six shows, with the first expected to release later this year.

The Assembly, a digital magazine in North Carolina, aims to raise a $3M philanthropic fund for journalism over two years and pledges 5% to support other outlets — Workshop Note: Kyle Villemain is The Assembly's editor-in-chief. The below post is a special announcement written by Kyle and shared with the Workshop.
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@barry_yeoman, @awaxman, @ncnewsworks, @shanbow, @themhartman, @johnfnewsom and @kylevillemain


Source: Netflix is pausing all its future projects and acquisitions of shows and films in Russia — Netflix is pausing all future projects and acquisitions of shows and films in Russia amid Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, a source confirmed to TheWrap.
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Variety, Hollywood Reporter, SlashFilm, The Guardian, IndieWire and Deadline