Russia’s media regulator is trying to censor an award-winning news website that reported on the Robert Mueller investigation
Roskomnadzor, a Moscow state-owned media regulator, has sent Google a court order demanding that it delist an award-winning opposition news website that reported about Donald Trump’s ties to Russia.
Grani, a popular Russian website that according to Reporters Without Borders provides “a forum for the many civil society groups, human rights defenders and opposition figures who are never seen on the main TV channels,” won a human rights prize in 2015 for its reporting on Internet censorship.
The online newspaper has reported extensively about the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into allegations that Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russian authorities.
Headline: “Mueller can be trusted” (source)
Last month, Roskomnadzor sent a court order demanding that Google delist Grani from its search results, claiming the opposition website had called “for the implementation of extremist activities.”
Via the Lumen Database, which archives online takedown requests:
According to Grani’s “About” page, the website is actually a mirror of another website that is currently blocked within the Russian Federation.
When you enter that website’s URL into a Russian proxy, you get this message:
Access to this page is prohibited, because [it] was included in the “Unified Register of Prohibited Sites”, containing information, the dissemination of which is prohibited in the Russian Federation, or in the “Federal List of Extremist Materials” on the website of the Ministry of Justice.
As of publication, Google has not delisted the mirrored website, and it is still available to view within Russia.
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