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War censorship exposes Putin's leaky internet controls

Russian Disinformation
Posted at 8:55 PM, Mar 13, 2022
and last updated 2022-03-13 23:55:10-04

BOSTON (AP) — Russia's increasingly strict online censorship measures have paradoxically exposed major shortcomings in the Kremlin's efforts to make the Russian internet a powerful tool of surveillance and social control akin to China's so-called Great Firewall.

Any Russian with a modicum of tech smarts can circumvent Kremlin attempts to starve the population of fact. That has put foreign providers of internet bandwidth and associated services in a bind.

They face public pressure to punish the Russian state for its war on Ukraine. But they are wary of helping stifle a free flow of information that can counter Kremlin disinformation.