Over the past year, 70 people have been charged under an article about fake news about the army in Russia – Kommersant

In 2023, prosecutors sent criminal cases to the courts against 70 individuals accused of spreading fake news about the army (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). A total of 135 such “crimes” were registered. 79 criminal cases were sent to the courts. The press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office reported this to the agency TASS.

At the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office, over the past year Roskomnadzor deleted or blocked almost 70 thousand sites with fakes about the army and government agencies. In 2022, the figures were higher: then the department sent 853 blocking requests, as a result of which 128 thousand resources were removed.

The Prosecutor General’s Office believes that “the topics of fake publications are not diverse.” According to the department, such publications mainly talk about military operations in Ukraine, and less often about the economic situation in the country, as well as decisions of government bodies.

In addition, in 2023, the Prosecutor General’s Office sent 388 requests to block 19 thousand websites due to extremist and terrorist content to Roskomnadzor. A year earlier, the department sent 167 such requests in relation to 14 thousand resources.

Anastasia Larina