A court in the Russian republic of Tatarstan has arrested a local civil rights activist on suspicion of promoting terrorism after he mocked President Vladimir Putin and two of his close associates in a YouTube video.
Millions of Russians were glued to a YouTube platform that was notorious for outrageous viral videos. Then hackers revealed that it was being secretly financed by the Kremlin. This story is part of a documentary series, InterNYET, by Current Time that explores the history of the Russian web.
The Kremlin says it will not investigate statements by Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the North Caucasus region of Chechnya, that advocated killing, imprisoning, and intimidating those who assault the "honor” of other users on the Internet.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said online commentators should be tracked down and killed for assaults on honor.
YouTube has grown to be the most popular website on the Russian Internet, but the Kremlin wants to take steps to limit its influence. Government critics are using the platform to voice their political opinions and can reach audiences on a scale similar to government-controlled TV stations. Yet the question remains: Will the authorities actually be able to hold back this online wave of opinion? The final episode of Andrey Loshаk’s InterNYET series looks at the YouTube phenomenon in Russia.
The Ukraine crisis coincided with a Russian crackdown on independent online media. New laws since then have brought new restrictions, and the Internet adviser to President Vladimir Putin tells Current Time that China is the model for further online regulation. This story is part of a documentary series, InterNYET, by Current Time that explores the history of the Russian web.
Their impact stretches beyond the 2016 U.S. presidential election that made them an international household name. Russian trolls, says blogger Ilya Varlamov, have changed “the whole picture” for online news in Russia. But how did they do it? In this video, taken from Current Time’s InterNYET: A History Of The Russian Internet series, former employees at a St. Petersburg troll factory get down to specifics.
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