Russian Propaganda Channels on Telegram Face Shut Downs in Several European Countries

Several European countries began blocking Telegram channels linked to Russian state propaganda, including those run by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Izvestia, RIA Novosti, Channel One, Rossiya 1, and NTV, according to Russian media The Moscow Times on December 28.

The affected channels are now inaccessible in Poland, Belgium, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Czechia, and Italy. Attempts to open the channels result in notifications stating that their content violates local laws.

In response to the bans, Leonid Slutsky, head of the Russian State Duma’s  Committee on International Affairs and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), announced plans to petition Roskomnadzor, Russia’s state communications regulator, to block Ukrainian information channels for Russian Telegram users.

This move follows the European Union’s decision in May to ban broadcasting by RIA Novosti, Izvestia, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and Golos Evropy. EU authorities justified the ban by stating that these outlets are under the direct or indirect control of the Russian government and actively support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the ban applies solely to broadcasting and does not restrict the work of these media outlets’ journalists within Europe.

Earlier, a Russian propaganda video depicted Santa Claus being shot down by Russian air defense systems over the Kremlin was shared by multiple Russian propagandist channels in Telegram.