Sending push notifications through a face-swapping app, adding pictures of the devastation from the bombings in Ukraine to Google Maps, hacking electric chargers… These are some of the tricks that are being used by Ukrainians to bypass Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strict censorship, and to make sure that accurate information about the war in Ukraine reaches everyday Russians.
President Putin has blocked or limited access to foreign news coverage in Russia about the war in Ukraine, including Facebook and Twitter. Russia’s state communications and media watchdog Roskomnadzor has also passed a censorship law forbidding Russian journalists from using the words “war”, “invasion” or “offensive” when talking about the “special operation” in Ukraine.
