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BBC says it has to “temporarily suspend” operations in Russia as the country's new law “appears to criminalize the process of independent journalism” — BBC statement on reporting from within Russia. Reacting to new legislation passed by the Russian authorities, BBC Director-General Tim Davie says: https://twitter.com/...
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Russia blocks access to BBC, Deutsche Welle, VOA, RFE/RL, and others, citing “deliberate and systematic circulation of materials containing false information” — Russia cut access to several foreign news organisations' websites, including the BBC and Deutsche Welle …


Google stops selling online advertising in Russia including on Search, YouTube, and outside publishing partners, following similar moves by Twitter and Snap — Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google said on Thursday that it had stopped selling online advertising in Russia, a ban that covers search, YouTube and outside publishing partners.
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Russia's Duma unanimously passes a bill that punishes spreading “fake news” about the Russian military with up to 15 years in prison — Proposed bill punishes ‘fakes’ about Russian military with up to 15 years in jail. — Spreading fake news about the Russian military …
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TechCrunch, The Independent, Reuters, NPR, The Verge, @micheleberdy and @moscowtimes, more at Techmeme »


Russian journalists from independent outlets describe Kremlin pressure that shut them down, or soon will: “Everything that's not propaganda is being eliminated” — “Everything that's not propaganda is being eliminated,” a Nobel Prize winning editor said as Russian authorities moved …

After Russia takes Ekho Moskvy off the air for spreading “deliberately false information”, the board of directors votes to liquidate the liberal radio station
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@kevinrothrock, CNN, Vanity Fair, @katyayushchenko, @cliffordlevy, @murphymike, @antontroian, @sbg1, @orlovakarine, Al Jazeera and Committee to Protect …


Disney announces a Disney+ ad-supported tier, launching in the US this year and internationally in 2023, as part of its push for 230M-260M subscribers by 2024 — - Disney announced a new ad-supported tier for its Disney+ streaming service on Friday. — In this photo illustration …


The Verge co-founder and Executive Editor Dieter Bohn is leaving the media industry after 20 years to join Google's Platforms & Ecosystems team — I'm moving on from media — Ten years after we founded it, The Verge continues to be the best place to discover the import and impact …
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Sources: Amazon has triggered a mid-March deadline for the FTC to challenge its MGM acquisition, after which Amazon can close the deal — Deadline could make it difficult for the commission to take action before the tech giant completes the transaction — Amazon.com Inc. has given …
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New York Post and @jbflint, more at Techmeme »


Telegram says it is removing access to Kremlin-backed media in the EU, starting with people who signed in with an EU-based phone number — Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok all scrubbed Russia's RT — and its channels in English, Spanish, French and German — off their platforms …
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@aaronbastani, @markscott82, @aaronbastani, @markscott82, @alexmartin, @isdglobal, @laukaya and Variety


Amid a trial in India, researchers say blocking Sci-Hub would benefit wealthy North American and European universities that can pay to access published papers — Dozens of Indian academics say blocking the site would have catastrophic consequences. — The doctoral researchers …
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@vickiturk and @anupkaphle, more at Techmeme »


Memo: T&R Productions, the production company behind RT America, the US version of Russia's state-funded RT, will lay off most of its staff and cease production — New York (CNN Business)The production company behind the American version of the Russian state-funded network RT laid off …
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RT says it will begin broadcasting on Rumble, a video platform popular with right-wing users, after tech companies restricted Russian state-controlled media
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MTV will air a reality TV competition showcasing eight artists originally discovered on TikTok — MTV has teamed with TikTok and Pepsi on a first-of-its-kind music competition series that showcases artists originally discovered on TikTok. Joe Jonas, Becky G and Sean Bankhead will serve …


Netflix is launching Trivia Quest, its first interactive daily quiz show, featuring 24 multiple-choice questions, on April 1 as an “experiment” — ‘Trivia Quest’ melds a story with knowledge — Netflix's move into interactive shows is extending beyond the occasional single-episode project.
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Netflix Tudum, @felipebudinich, The Verge and Deadline