Russian opposition journalist-in-exile Andrei Grigoriev, who supports Ukraine, described examples of how shadow censorship on Telegram makes decisions in favor of the Kremlin on his Facebook page.We are reprinting this post in English translation with the author's permission.Читати українською

On August 22, Telegram's founder, Pavel Durov, was detained in France. This event provoked a violent reaction from Russian propaganda, which shouted about the collective West's attack on freedom of speech and another manifestation of Russophobia. The Russian media compare Durov to Julian Assange, trying to create an image of a hero who stands up to Western intelligence services. Propaganda uses this case to reinforce anti-Western narratives and intimidate Russians with the possible consequences of cooperation with the West.Also, after Ukraine passed a law restricting religious organizations with ties to Russia, Russian media began spreading narratives about an attack on the canonical church of Ukraine. Using manipulative comparisons with historical repressions, disinformers are spreading the thesis of alleged persecution of believers in Ukraine while ignoring the repression of religious minorities in Russia itself.Читати українськоюRead about this and more in the new issue of our monitoring of Russian state media and manipulative websites that target Russian disinformation.