Spacex and Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted early Saturday morning that Starlink has been told by some governments to block Russian news sources. However, Musk said, “We will not do so unless at gunpoint. Sorry to be a free speech absolutist.”
Starlink is operated by Spacex. The service “provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet across the globe,” its website describes.
Many people on Twitter commended Musk for not giving in to government requests.
Replying to this tweet, a Twitter user told Musk, “Russian ‘news’ resources are propaganda resources.” The Spacex boss replied, “All new sources are partially propaganda, some more than others.”
Russia’s parliament passed a draconian censorship bill this week to prosecute anyone spreading “false news” regarding the Russian military. Penalties include fines and up to 15 years imprisonment. Anti-war protestors and those calling for foreign sanctions on Russia can also be prosecuted. False news is described as anything not officially approved by the Kremlin.
In addition, Russia’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has issued strict guidelines for coverage of Ukraine and the Russian military. The media across the country can only publish information provided by official sources. It is forbidden, for example, to describe the attacks on Ukraine as an “invasion” or a “war.” Instead, they must be called a “special military operation.”
