THE Foreign Office has been panned for an “embarrassing” tweet on the same day the UK was ranked 26th in the World Press Freedom Index (WPFI).
On Wednesday morning, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Twitter account posted a message which repeated the words “media freedom in Russia” over and over with the last letter removed each time.
It kept going until the last line simply read “M”. It comes as the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders released the WPFI which rated 180 countries on their level of press freedom.
The Foreign Office’s tweet added: “The Kremlin is trying to hide the truth about the war in Ukraine from the Russian people.
Media freedom in Russia Media freedom in Russi Media freedom in Russ Media freedom in Rus Media freedom in Ru Media freedom in R Media freedom in Media freedom i Media freedom Media freedo Media freed Media free Media fre Media fr Media f Media Medi Med Me M
— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) May 3, 2023
“Shutting down independent broadcasters. Blocking access to online international news. Criminalising criticism on social media.”
Many took to social media to criticise the tweet with one saying there “must be a more dignified way for a Government department to make a point”.
“Well that went down well”, said another while a third added that government departments shouldn’t tweet because it is “embarrassing”.
The tweet was also sent on the same day that the Home Office sent what has been described as an “intimidatory” letter to those planning peaceful protests ahead of the King’s coronation.
Chief executive of the anti-monarchy group Republic said the letter was “very odd”.
It comes after the Public Order Bill, aimed at cracking down on protests which cause “serious disruption”, was given royal assent, making it an official law in the UK.
The Home Office has said that the letter was intended to inform rather than intimidate.
