DISINFO: Ban on Russia RTR in Latvia is a slap in the face for freedom of speech
SUMMARY
Another ban on the Russian TV channel Russia RTR in Latvia is not only a manifestation of unfair competition in the media, but also a big slap in the face for the freedom of speech in Latvia.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about alleged limits to freedom of speech in the West. Disinformation narratives often try to reach Russian speakers in order to claim that the alleged attacks on freedom of speech are most often directed at the Russian language. Between 31 May 2017 and 22 May 2018, the National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEMMC) found several occurrences of hate speech and incitement to ethnic hatred in the programmes of the “Rossiya RTR” channel, namely “60 minutes” and “Sunday Night with Vladimir Solovyev”. For example, in the latter programme broadcast on May 22, 2018, NEMCC found "explicitly and repeatedly voiced hate speech against parts of the Ukrainian state", including incitement to "hang and kill" certain Ukrainians. According to the NEMMC, the programmes mentioned above were in violation of article 6 of the EU's Audiovisual Media Services Directive ("Member States shall ensure by appropriate means that audiovisual media services provided by media service providers under their jurisdiction do not contain any incitement to hatred based on race, sex, religion or nationality"); This was the reason given for suspending the broadcasting in Latvia for three months. For more information, see here and here.