“WELT stands for what’s being so vehemently defended by the brave individuals of Ukraine on the bottom proper now: freedom,” she stated in a press release saying her hiring. “I see it as my responsibility as a journalist to defend that freedom.”
On March 14, Ovsyannikova ran onto the set of Russian state TV’s flagship program on Channel One whereas holding an indication that learn “NO WAR.” In a prerecorded message earlier than her protest, she stated she had a Russian mom and a Ukrainian father and was ashamed of getting labored on “Kremlin propaganda” whereas at Channel One.
“I’m ashamed that I’ve allowed the lies to be stated on the TV screens. I’m ashamed that I let the Russian individuals be zombified,” Ovsyannikova stated in her message.
A Russian court docket later discovered her responsible of organizing an unlawful protest and fined her about $360.
Ulf Poschardt, editor in chief of Welt Group, praised Ovsyannikova’s braveness within the assertion saying her hiring.
“At an important second, Marina Ovsyannikova had the braveness to confront Russian viewers with an unembellished view of actuality,” Poschardt stated. “In doing so, she defended crucial journalistic ethics — regardless of the specter of state repression.”
Axel Springer didn’t point out whether or not Ovsyannikova would stay in Russia or report from Germany.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has instituted a contemporary crackdown on the nation’s media following the invasion of Ukraine. Underneath a regulation he signed final month, journalists resist 15 years in jail in the event that they unfold what the Kremlin dubs “faux information” — as an example, through the use of the phrases “invasion” or “warfare” reasonably than the state-approved “particular navy operation.”
At the least 150 journalists have fled the nation, in keeping with a Russian media outlet. Whereas some have pledged to proceed reporting in exile, censorship and their bodily disconnection from native sources and audiences will hamper their means to inform Russians the reality in regards to the warfare, Robert Mahoney, government director of the Committee to Shield Journalists, wrote in an op-ed final month.
The Kremlin has additionally blocked or restricted entry to social media platforms comparable to Fb and Twitter, in addition to Western media retailers together with the British Broadcasting Corp., Germany’s Deutsche Welle and Radio Free Europe, making it harder to pierce Putin’s propaganda curtain.
Although Russians can nonetheless view information on YouTube and the messaging app Telegram, older Russians are likely to get most of their information from conventional sources comparable to tv and newspapers.
Russia was ranked one hundred and fiftieth out of 180 international locations on the latest World Press Freedom Index, compiled by the nonprofit Reporters With out Borders.
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