The New York Times is pulling its editorial staff out of Russia in response to the country’s passage of a censorship law that threatens jail time for those trying to report independently on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Times’ action is the latest in a line of other media companies and outlets taking similar steps to protect the safety of their staff while still aiming to report on goings on in Ukraine from outside the region.
“Russia’s new legislation seeks to criminalize independent, accurate news reporting about the war against Ukraine. For the safety and security of our editorial staff working in the region, we are moving them out of the country for now,”A spokesperson for the Times said. “We look forward to them returning as soon as possible while we monitor the application of the new law. We will continue our live, robust coverage of the war, and our rigorous reporting on Russia’s offensive in Ukraine and these attempts to stifle independent journalism.”
CNN, ABC News, CBS News and CBS News were just a few of the media companies that had stopped broadcasting from Russia. BBC News was also suspending reporting.
On Friday, Russia’s parliament Unanimously passed a lawWhat is it called? “fake news” — or news that is not approved by the Kremlin — with a punishment of up to 15 years in prison. This law specifically targets information regarding the distribution of so called “false news” about the invasion of Ukraine — which President Vladimir Putin has euphemistically called a “special military operation.”
Some of Russia’s last independent media outlets have been forced to close down by the draconian censorship legislation. Ekho Moskvy and Dozhd are two examples. Other sites have also been blocked or have had their access impeded to social media networks.
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