Stories from RuNet Echo from March, 2016
This Russian Website Uses Neural Networks to Combine Images, With Awesome Results
A Russian website based on a neural networks algorithm allows Internet users to combine photos and works of art to create fantastical images.
Russia Gets Its Very First Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
Last week, one of Nizhny Novgorod's biggest Orthodox churches got a new neighbor, located just around the corner: Russia’s very first Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Moscow Police Banned From Discussing Work Matters on Social Media
VKontakte, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and WhatsApp are now officially off limits to Moscow police officers who want to discuss work-related matters or exchange official law enforcement data.
Center for Monitoring Propaganda and Disinformation Online Set to Open in Russia
Russia already has agencies that oppose and respond to cyberattacks, but the center's creators say it would be the first of its kind, monitoring and preventing information attacks online.
Russian Censors Target Public Wi-Fi Spots in Crusade Against Blocked Websites
Russian censors are now policing public Wi-Fi in places such as cafes, shopping malls or public libraries, to make sure ISPs are blocking access to websites that are officially banned.
BBC Says Russia's ‘Troll Factory’ Faked a Video Showing a US Soldier Shooting at a Quran
According to an investigative report by the BBC’s Russian-language service, the footage was actually staged by St. Petersburg’s infamous “troll factory,” the Agency for Internet Studies.
Yahoo Reports First Content Removal Requests from the Russian Government
This is the first time Yahoo has reported receiving Russian requests requests to remove user-generated content from services such as Flickr and Yahoo Groups.
Russian Journalists Create New Independent Trade Union
Russian journalists have founded a new independent trade union organization to boost professional solidarity and provide more support for reporters working in the country.
Twitter Through the Years: The RuNet Edition
For Twitter's 10-year anniversary, the Russian news outlet Kommersant collected dozens of "the most emblematic" tweets published throughout the platform's history. We picked out the ones coming from the RuNet.
Russia Plans to Fine Websites for ‘Propaganda’ of Circumvention Tools
The Kremlin is so worried about internet circumvention tools it now seeks to make mere mentions of them illegal and introduce fines for "propaganda" of ways to access blocked websites.
Russian Online Service Asks Women to Pay to Remind Their Boyfriends to Buy Them Flowers
“Using modern Internet-advertising tools,” the website says, ”we delicately remind your boyfriend that it’s been some time since he’s gifted flowers, and point out that flowers are important to women.”
Uber Is Now Sharing Data With the Moscow Transportation Department
Uber, the popular and contested taxi alternative, is now cooperating with the Moscow authorities and sharing their car movement data with the local transportation agency.
Are There Happy Places in Ukraine? Use This Map to Find Out
An international group of volunteers is creating an online map of all the places in Ukraine where people say they feel happy.
For Its Dubbed Version, Marvel Removed Russian Insignia From a Scene in Its New ‘Captain America’ Trailer
Within hours, Internet users noticed that, in the Russian version, a soldier's arm at the very beginning of the trailer is missing the insignia visible in the original version.
Russia's Paranoid Patriotism Gets a Cartoon Movie
A Russian charity group has made what appears to be a truly amazing animated film. The movie, titled “Children Versus Wizards,” is a Russian chauvinist’s fantasy.
Twitter Reports Massive Increase in Russian Government's Content Removal Requests
In the second half of 2015 Russian government agencies submitted 1,735 requests to remove content from Twitter—more than 25 times the number submitted in the first half of 2015.
Why Russian Television Said Nothing When a Nanny Beheaded a Four-Year-Old Girl
After the horrific murder of a little girl in Moscow, national television said nothing for 24 hours. That gave Internet users plenty of time to debate what the silence meant.
There's a Prison in Russia Making Viral YouTube Videos
When you think of Russian prisons, you don’t typically imagine musical flashmobs or amatuer filmmaking, but that’s precisely what’s on tap at the Number 7 state penitentiary in Omsk.
Russian Parents Can Now Get Text Message Alerts if Their Kids Search for ISIS Online
A new software system promises to alert Russian parents about their children's interest in extremist themes and groups like ISIS based on their social media activity.
How to Comb Russia's TV News
This guide explains how to evaluate Russian TV news sources and navigate television networks' online video archives, in order to compare coverage of specific events.
