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Russian state-controlled RT news network saw its license revoked in the U.K. on Friday due to new laws from Moscow that essentially make it illegal to challenge the Kremlin’s narrative on the Ukraine War.
Ofcom, the regulator, said it made the decision after an “independent regulatory process” and determined that the news outlet “is not fit and proper to hold license in the U.K.” (See “E.U. BANS RUSSIAN MEDIA OUTLETS TO SILENCE VOICES NOT SINGING THEIR TUNE.”)
“Freedom of expression is something we guard fiercely in this country, and the bar for action on broadcasters is rightly set very high,” Melanie Dawes, the CEO of Ofcom, said in a statement. “Following an independent regulatory process, we have today found that RT is not fit and proper to hold a license in the UK. As a result, we have revoked RT’s UK broadcasting license.”
Anti-Russian
Moscow described Britain’s move as “anti-Russian madness,” according to CNN.
“This is a continuation of the anti-Russian madness that is happening in Europe and the US,” Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said. “This is another step to grossly restrict freedom of speech, to violate all laws related to the work of the media.”
The messaging war between the U.S. and Russia has hit a fever pitch with both countries looking to sell a better narrative to sway international opinion of the crisis in Ukraine.
The Kremlin said it is considering retaliation. An RT spokesperson told The Guardian that there is hope that the news outlet can reach an online audience but even that has “come under immense pressure as part of a concerted effort to stifle alternative voices in news.”
Ofcom was accused by the station of being motivated by politics.
“For many years the UK was looking for a formal reason to close RT but they tried to maintain the appearance of maintaining freedom of speech. Now all masks are off. We were banned from working for one reason: any point of view in the west that is different from the official one now has simply no right to exist,” the spokesman said.
Chris Bryant, a Labor MP, took to Twitter to praise the decision to withdraw the license.
“Putin’s propagandists should go home and those who took RT cash should give it to Ukraine reconstruction,” he posted.
TREND FORECAST: From “Remember the Maine,” to the Gulf of Tonkin incident, to Saddam Hussein having weapons of mass destruction and ties to al Qaeda, “We the People” are only permitted to be lied to and swayed by propaganda from the governments in the countries where we live.
Anyone disputing their warmongering is banned. Censorship is the new ABnormal. There is a serious danger when governments dictate to media outlets how news reports should be covered. RT does not hide its affiliation with Moscow and viewers should watch its reports with a critical eye, but it continues the trend that only one side of the war can be presented.
As Freedom House notes, regardless of the nation, Freedom of the Press continues to evaporate:
“The fundamental right to seek and disseminate information through an independent press is under attack, and part of the assault has come from an unexpected source. Elected leaders in many democracies, who should be press freedom’s staunchest defenders, have made explicit attempts to silence critical media voices and strengthen outlets that serve up favorable coverage. The trend is linked to a global decline in democracy itself: The erosion of press freedom is both a symptom of and a contributor to the breakdown of other democratic institutions and principles, a fact that makes it especially alarming.
“According to Freedom House’s Freedom in the World data, media freedom has been deteriorating around the world over the past decade, with new forms of repression taking hold in open societies and authoritarian states alike.”
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