A Russian court has threatened to fine internet behemoths Google and Wikipedia for distributing (what it deems) “fake” news about the war in Ukraine and the Russian military, offenses put into law by President Vladimir Putin last month, Reuters reports.
In an effort to counter negative news coverage on Russia’s all-out attack on Ukraine and the subsequent embarrassing losses of the Russian military, Putin directed the Russian Duma to craft a law that gave him the power to arrest anyone who said anything negative about the invasion and war.
Both Wikipedia and Google distribute links to reputable news sites that report the reality on the ground, not Putin-approved propaganda on state-owned television. This fact is the reason such media companies get in trouble with authoritarian leaders like Putin and Republicans.