Featured stories from RuNet Echo
Stories from RuNet Echo
25 May 2018
Russian anti-corruption activists are jailed for ‘inciting riots’ based on their tweets and retweets
"...here goes another 'organizing a rally by retweet.' Looks like this time they’re just locking up everyone."
21 April 2018
Troll farm takes aim at American audiences in new web campaign
RIA FAN, a Russian news outlet with known connections to the Saint Petersburg "troll factory", announced its latest project: a website called USA Really, aimed at a U.S.-based audience.
16 April 2018
As Russian court announces Telegram ban, users stand defiant, amused… and worried
And as a year-long battle between Telegram and the Russian authorities ended with the decision to block the app, reaction to the announcement has been passionate and often derisive.
9 April 2018
Russian Newspaper Closes After Years of Tense, Often Violent Confrontation with Security Services
In an op-ed announcing the newspaper’s closure, the acting editor Yuri Grozmani said he had little hope for domestic prosecution of FSB officers complicit in the act of censorship
5 April 2018
Tracking Russian Online Interference Teaches Valuable Lessons on Improving News Quality
Years before scandal about Russian trolling erupted into global view, independent researchers had already documented the phenomenon.
28 March 2018
In the Wake of a Fatal Fire in Russia, Official Numbness and Online Trolling Stoke Outrage
The tragic Kemerovo incident exposed not only the Russian officials' numbness to grief and poor crisis management skills, but also the society's susceptibility to online trolling, both state-sponsored and external.
16 March 2018
Women Reporters Accuse a Prominent Russian Lawmaker of Sexual Harassment, but His Colleagues Stand by Him
At least three Russian women reporters have accused Leonid Slutsky, a populist parliament member, of sexual harassment. Most of his politician colleagues, even women, are rallying behind him.
1 March 2018
Russian Authorities Are Trying Really Hard to Boost Turnout in the Upcoming Election, Good Taste Be Damned
"There's no doubt about the importance they’re attaching to the turnout...The money poured into this campaign is being squandered, because these campaign ads are cooked up by amateurs, not professionals."
16 February 2018
Social Media Giants Are at the Center of a Censorship Scandal in Russia — Again
The latest manifestation of online platforms being targeted for censorship by government entities
31 January 2018
‘Buy a New SIM Card’ and Await Further Interrogation: Russia's Security Services Detain and Question a Reporter
Russia's FSB security services searched journalist Pavel Nikulin's apartment and seized laptops, documents and copies of his independent magazine.
Russians are Baffled by the United States Treasury's Latest Sanctions List
Russia’s political elite registered a collective smirk at the seemingly toothless report.
23 January 2018
What is More Convincing for World Cup 2018 Fans? Russia's Edgy New Tourism Logo or Their Governments’ Dire Warnings?
With the World Cup fast approaching, will Russia live up to its new “The Whole World Within Russia” tourism brand campaign?
16 January 2018
Why Wait? Wikipedia and Google Accidentally Declare Putin the Winner of March 2018 Presidential Elections
Whether the error was intended as a joke, or as a political move, is unknown.
4 January 2018
Did a Wiener Dog That Suffered for Science Really Go Home With Russia's Deputy Prime Minister?
The Russian-speaking web has its doubts.
17 December 2017
The Campaigning Dead: Deceased Users’ Profiles Post Pro-Putin Messages on a Russian Social Network
Most of Vkontakte accounts belonging to deceased Russians posting pro-Putin messages have been suspended. Vkontakte’s management, approached by reporters for comment, said these accounts had been hacked by unknown perpetrators.
5 December 2017
Russian Atomic Regulator's Foray into Meme-Making Fails to Quench Rumors of Nuclear Leaks
"No one is chastising Ruthemium, or even Ruthenium-106. They’re chastising Rosatom for contradictory information and for jokes like this instead of a serious investigation into the accident."
4 December 2017
Russians Are Unimpressed With the 2018 Presidential Election Logo (and Have Ideas for Improvement)
So far, the logo challenge has been the most exciting part of the campaign where Putin is expected to run and win even by his most vocal opponents.
17 November 2017
Barbie Hijab Comment Highlights Why Some Russian Activists Don’t Support Presidential Hopeful Navalny
"Congratulations, Alexey! With one tweet you’ve written off all of your potential Muslim voters. You apparently don’t want to become president."
14 November 2017
Video Games Are the Latest Additions to Russian Infowarfare
The defense ministry's tweet purported to show drone footage of ISIS convoys moving under US protection. There was just one problem -- none of it was real.
8 November 2017
Today's Russia Fails to Live up to the Sky-High Hopes Buried With Time Capsules in 1967
Time capsules from 1967 -- the 50th anniversary of the Great October Revolution -- are being opened across Russia for the centennial. The contents are somewhat discouraging.
About our RuNet Echo coverage
Alexey Kovalev is the RuNet Echo editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
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