Fake Twitter account tries to cast doubt on Russian editor who went viral protesting Ukraine invasion

A fake Twitter account pretended to be a Russian editor who went viral for protesting the war on live television. Archives and screenshots show that this is the second member of the media it’s pretended to be in recent days. Information is already heavily censored in Russia. President Vladimir Putin has greatly intensified censorship during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is now a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison to disseminate what Russia defines as “fake news” about the military. Independent media and journalists have largely complied with the new law. Some have fled. On Monday evening, Marina Ovsyannikova took a stand for free expression. Ovsyannikova, an editor on the state-run Channel 1, walked onto a live broadcast to oppose the war. Osyannikova yelled, “Stop the war!” the New York Times reports, and carried a sign reading “No war” in English and “They’re lying to you here” in Russian. A Russian rights group that’s representing her also released a video in which she said she was “deeply ashamed” to have helped produce “Kremlin propaganda,” the Times reports. Ovsyannikova was swiftly detained by police. She was fined and released on Tuesday. Her bravery made her an international…
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