An internal policy memo from Google now requires Russian translators working on “projects that mention the war in Ukraine” to use the term “extraordinary circumstances,” Ynet reports.
The policy appears to be the result of a new “fake news” law in Russia that punishes people for “the distribution of false information about the activities of the Russian security forces” and “the slander regarding the use of Russian military forces.”
The document says that it is only in the Russian language that the word “war” can’t be used.
Russia’s government media watchdog has been blocking companies that use the term “war” rather than “special anti-terrorist activity.”
As part of its campaign to block out negative info, Russia has banned major social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, from its citizens.
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One Response
Very misleading headline. It sounds like Google is the culprit (not that Google are groise tzaddikim…), but in this case they’re trying to protect themselves and their employees in Russia, so how can you blame them? They’re not whitewashing evil, they’re doing the best they can under the circumstances…
The headline should be edited.