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British Broadcast Regulator Officially Bans Russian News Network RT

Admits it didn’t break any actual rules

Published

2 years ago

on

Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

British broadcast regulator Ofcom has officially withdrawn the license of RT News in the UK, the English language version of the Russian News network, despite a clean record and after weeks of lobbying by government ministers.

Ofcom stated that the “Russian Federation’s current conduct in Ukraine” was a justification for revoking RT’s license, adding that it is “difficult to see how a Russian state-funded news broadcaster could credibly avoid covering the events in Ukraine, or could expect to remain funded if it failed to convey the narrative that the Russian Federation seeks to impose on its own people and the rest of the world.”

Ofcom admitted that in the past “we have not had reason to investigate any of [RT’s] programming, and have not found it in breach of the Code.” 

However, the regulator declared that the network “demonstrates that it has particular difficulty in complying with the due impartiality rules of the Code where they relate to matters of Russian foreign policy.”

“It appears impossible for the licensee to comply with the Code in respect of a matter of major political importance,” Ofcom further announced.

In other words, the channel has been banned for being Russian and partially funded by the state (as the BBC is in the UK), not for promoting ‘misinformation’ or doing anything wrong.

The action came in lockstep with the British government imposing a travel ban and freezing the assets of RT’s editor in chief Margarita Simonyan.

Responding to the decision, RT deputy editor-in-chief Anna Belkina said Ofcom “has shown the UK public, and the regulatory community internationally, that despite a well-constructed facade of independence, it is nothing more than a tool of government, bending to its media-suppressing will.”

Belkina added that “By ignoring RT’s completely clean record of four consecutive years and stating purely political reasons tied directly to the situation in Ukraine and yet completely unassociated to RT’s operations, structure, management or editorial output, Ofcom has falsely judged RT to not be ‘fit and proper’ and in doing so robbed the UK public of access to information.”

The Kremlin also responded to the development, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov noting “This is a continuation of the madness which is going on in America and Europe – it is anti-Russian madness. This is yet another step that crudely limits freedom of speech.”

In response to the limiting of RT and other Russia media sources, the Kremlin has blocked access to the BBC and some other Western media websites in Russia, as well as instituting laws to prevent foreign journalists reporting negatively on Russian military activity.

Ofcom’s action comes after RT has already been pulled off the air by practically all providers in the UK because of an EU-wide ban on the network, which affected the satellite feeds to the UK.

UK culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, who has obsessed over getting RT banned, celebrated the Ofcom decision:

Dorries previously began literally crying in Parliament when talking about how unbiased the BBC is compared to RT:

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    censorship

    “Don’t Be Intimidated” By The Censors – Tucker Carlson Urges Americans To Fight Back By ‘Telling The Truth’

    Published

    3 days ago

    on

    25 September, 2023

    Zero Hedge

    Screenshot

    In a brief clip of him speaking in Utica, MI, Tucker Carlson expresses his deep concern over widespread acceptance of dishonesty in public life, lamenting, “what’s true? The true things are the things that you can’t say.”

    The former Fox News man rages at the lack of penalties for public figures who lie or display incompetence; contrasting this with the societal backlash against those who aim to speak their own truths, suggesting that in today’s society, “the only penalty is for noting what’s true.”

    “Every society penalizes something…” In America, “it’s telling the truth.”

    Drawing a parallel with foreign (banana republic) governments, Carlson recounts a recent experience in Buenos Aires that exposed the government’s dishonesty about the Argentine peso’s exchange rate. He emphasizes, “so the government lies about the value of its own currencies,” reflecting on the economic lies and falsehoods and manipulations (think non-farm payrolls jobs data revised lower every month this year for instance) of the US government.

    Further into the speech, he points out the pattern of backlash he believes truth-tellers face, noting, “first they’ll tell you you’re hurting someone’s feelings… then they call you insane… the third thing they do is just criminalize telling the truth.”

    He raises concerns about the role of significant U.S. institutions like the FBI and CIA, alleging they are partisan, and mentions, “when federal employees… take an aggressive position on the side of one political party, you can’t have a fair election.”

    Lastly, he touches upon the 2020 U.S. presidential election, suggesting potential irregularities and fraud, blasting tech oligarchs’ influence in silencing the truth-sayers.

    “If some oligarchs… spent nearly half a billion dollars to control the mechanics of the Bolivian election in 2020, we would say it’s not a legitimate election.”

    Tucker closes by encouraging Americans to stand up against the censors: “don’t let them,” he exclaims, urging listeners“don’t be intimidated, your children’s future depends on your bravery.”

    Watch the full speech below:

    This post was originally published at Zero Hedge

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    The Truth About Brand

    Of course it’s political.

    Published

    7 days ago

    on

    21 September, 2023

    The media assured us claims Brand was the subject of a coordinated political attack were baseless “conspiracy theories”.

    Now the political class, the media and literally *the government*, is carrying out a coordinated political attack to unperson him from all public platforms.

    Please share this video! https://youtu.be/CQrMWvweF0U

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    Netanyahu Tells Musk He Hopes He Can Work Within The ‘Confines’ of the First Amendment to ‘Stop Anti-Semitism’ on Twitter

    Musk responded by saying he’s “against attacking any group, doesn’t matter who it is.”

    Published

    1 week ago

    on

    19 September, 2023

    Screenshot

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s met with Twitter/X owner Elon Musk on Monday as part of a public discussion on the dangers of artificial intelligence.

    The Washington Post reported last week the meeting was going to be to discuss “anti-Semitism on X,” whereas Musk said it was going to be about AI.

    Though it was mostly about AI — which Israel is seeking to take a leading role in — Netanyahu also told Musk he hopes he can work within the “confines” of the First Amendment to “stop anti-Semitism” on X.

    Musk responded by saying he’s “against attacking any group, doesn’t matter who it is.”

    “Obviously I’m against anti-Semitism, I’m against anti— really anything that promotes hate and conflict,” he added.

    As I reported in May, the Biden White House’s first-ever “National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism” — which was developed in concert with pro-Israel groups like the Anti-Defamation League — called on “all online platforms” to ban “extremist websites,” ban “hate speech” and institute “zero tolerance” policies to protect Jews from anti-Semitism.

    There’s nothing in the First Amendment about banning the criticism of certain groups or banning the promotion of “hate” and there’s nothing in there about prohibiting “hate speech.”

    It was reported last month that X partnered with an Israeli digital ID company to provide premium users with an “optional” way to verify their identity by sharing selfies and their government ID.

    Last week, X CEO Linda Yaccarino pledged to expand X’s censorship policies and appears to have banned multiple accounts to please the Center for Countering Digital Hate — which X is actively suing for defamation.

    Follow InformationLiberation on Twitter, Facebook, Gab, Minds and Telegram.

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