Russian propaganda is being blocked by Czech TV providers, both cable and internet. O2, Vodafone, and Telly gradually remove Kremlin-controlled news from their offerings, leaving only apolitical Russian programs. The blocking came even before the European Union called for it on Sunday.
Two Russian-language channels, TNT and Russkoye Kino remained in the offering. For several years, television operator Vodafone (formerly UPC) has not offered Russian state television.
“We have only TV1000, Russkoye Kino, on offer, but it is a program of the Viasat (Nordic) group and without any news coverage. It is a selection of films from Russian cinema, ” wrote spokesman Ondřej Luštinec. Russian propaganda stations have also been taken off the air by T-Mobile.
Some internet TVs have been blocking them for years
Satellite and internet TV provider Telly has been blocking similar content for several years. “We stand fully behind Ukraine on this. We have been resisting the spread of propaganda for a long time, and no Russian TV channels have been on our offer since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, said company spokesman Jan Schöppel.
Another provider, Kuki, offers only “neutral” entertainment channels like TNT Russia or Friday International. “We are negotiating the inclusion of Ukrainian channels in our portfolio,” he added.
EU: We will stop Russian lies
The Russian media are only allowed to report on the invasion of Ukraine according to pro-Kremlin narratives and refer to it as a “special military operation.” They are not allowed to call it a “war” or an “invasion.”
The authorities, therefore, discard propaganda, private companies, and hackers. On Sunday, the European Commission decided on a blanket ban on these propaganda media.
The EU will provide a more detailed legal and technical solution to this decision in the coming days.