Vladimir Putin swept up the remnants of Russia's free press last week when his apparatchiks unplugged Echo of Moscow and TV Rain, among the last independent radio and TV outlets respectively, for reporting the facts about his invasion of Ukraine. Following orders, the Duma, Russia's parliament, is cementing censorship in place with a new law that criminalizes spreading "false news" on Russian military operations. For western news networks covering an increasingly authoritarian regime, Putin's travesties present a golden opportunity to hire real Russian journalists who can bring the facts to audiences in their homeland as well as abroad.
Putin Just Fired Russia's Real Journalists: Put Them on the Payroll
