​The Russian government continues to tighten its control over the Russian information space in an effort to shape a narrative inside and outside of Russia regarding the invasion of Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War notes in its latest assessment.

A Russian military blogger says Moscow is working to make the information space “like a kitten versus a rhino” compared to foreign think tanks, nonprofits and independent media.

Russia’s State Duma is reportedly considering a bill that would regulate “recommendation” algorithms in social networks, online cinemas, search engines and online sites, which would eventually allow the government to disable certain algorithms, Kommersant reports.

Kommersant reported that the bill would require owners of all websites and platforms to ensure that the government can block certain users in whole or in part, and that these provisions predate the war and specifically apply to Facebook, Instagram and YouTube due to the risk of “social conflict “.

Millbloggers reaction

Russian military bloggers responded that the bill would make it harder for propaganda to spread because it would limit access to personalized information online, ISW said.

Russia’s State Duma is likely considering the bill in an attempt to address a stumbling block in the Kremlin’s ability to represent and defend the war to Russian citizens and to create a direct means of countering internal and external sources of online dissent.

In addition, the Federal State Security Service (FSB) of Russia took measures to control the information space and on November 4 signed a resolution approving the list of types of military and military-technical activities, the receipt of which from foreign sources can be used against security. Russian Federation.

This decree is in fact a large-scale attempt by the FSB to broadly ban a wide range of information about the Russian military, which will obviously increase the control over the statements of Russian media bloggers and other such sources, who often discuss and criticize the tactical, operational and strategic scope of the war in Ukraine.

Moscow is trying to control the space flooded by critics

Both the draft law proposed by the Duma and the FSB decree indicate that the Russian authorities seek to take control of the information space, as it is increasingly flooded with criticism of the Russian military both inside the country and from outside.

Russian officials are likely seeking to tighten censorship measures to stifle the spread of foreign voices and domestic criticism, applying legislative pressure on fundamental algorithms and presenting a wide range of actions that could be considered harmful to the security of the Russian state, ISW also notes.

source photo of the article © Leonid Sorokin | Dreamstime.com

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