In addition to the battle for online freedom in Uganda, tech platforms are also suffocating opposition media in Russia. Independent media outlets, including The Insider, face intense censorship within the country, and online platforms have shown little interest in helping journalists reach their audience. Since the start of the Ukraine war, tech platforms have made it difficult for Roman Dobrokhotov, founder of The Insider, to reach his audience. The site's Facebook traffic dropped to zero, and Google intermittently blocked the site from its News and Discover services. The Insider's website has also been blocked, and its YouTube videos targeted by trolls. The platform issues faced by Russian civil society groups have been highlighted in a recent survey. The pressure from repressive governments and the self-interest of tech platforms have made it challenging for dissident media to reach their audience. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has limited political content in its news feeds, making it difficult for critical content to make it through. The urgency of the war has put pressure on dissident media, caught between a hostile regime at home and indifferent online platforms. Meta has been explicit about its goal to downrank political content, which has hurt coverage of high-stakes issues like the war. Reaching an audience has become a challenge due to Big Tech censorship. Governments are becoming more effective at taking down content, and platforms are less interested in fighting to keep it up.
During the Gallipoli Wars, there was censorship on news that would put the Ottoman Empire in a difficult situation. The intelligence bureau of the Ottoman General Staff censored newspapers and magazines that went against the empire. Journalists who did not comply were threatened to be sent to violent battlefields. The press played a crucial role during the war, with German propaganda being effective. Foreign newspapers and magazines were banned from entering the Ottoman Empire, and censorship boards were established in Istanbul to check publications. News that did not pass through the censorship board would not be published. The aim was to avoid news that would harm the country, especially regarding Romania, which had not yet entered the war. The Intelligence Bureau of the Ottoman General Staff organized these censorship efforts. The article highlights an incident where the owner of the newspaper Tasvir-i Efkar published photographs of Mustafa Kemal and Cevat Pasha, which had been avoided due to the owner being a member of parliament. The Director of Intelligence threatened to send the journalists who wrote the news item to the front and close the newspaper, but it could not be closed due to the owner's political position. [a91a213f]