London — An worker of a state-owned TV channel in Russia burst onto the set of its nightly information broadcast on Monday with an indication that stated: "Cease the struggle. Do not imagine propaganda. You're being lied to right here." The occasion lasted just a few seconds earlier than the channel switched to a prerecorded story.
A Russian human rights group recognized the worker as Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor and producer at Channel One. They stated she had been detained by Russian authorities. On Tuesday, she was accused of an administrative offence and faces as much as 10 days in jail, in keeping with native media.
Earlier than Ovsyannikova walked onto the information set along with her signal, she recorded a video message that was launched on-line.
"Sadly, for the final two years, I've been working at Channel One, and I'm deeply ashamed about that proper now," Ovsyannikova stated within the video. "I'm ashamed that I've allowed individuals to lie from TV screens. I'm ashamed that I let the Russian individuals be zombified. We have been silent in 2014, when all of this was simply beginning. We didn't protest when the Kremlin poisoned Navalny. We have been watching the anti-human regime silently. And now the entire world has turned its again on us. Ten generations of our descendants won't be able to clean off the disgrace of this fratricidal struggle."
Most Russian media shops are affiliated with the state and parrot the Russian authorities's justification for the struggle in Ukraine, falsely claiming that it's working to liberate the nation from "neo-Nazis." Unbiased information shops have largely been shuttered in Russia and their journalists pressured to cease working, or flee the nation.
Russia not too long ago handed a legislation underneath which anybody it deems to have unfold "false" info on the struggle in Ukraine can resist 15 years in jail. Even calling the struggle a struggle, or utilizing the phrase "invasion" are banned underneath the legislation. It was applied as anti-war protests throughout the nation resulted in at the least 15,000 individuals being arrested.
"Marina is going through unimaginable dangers to her life, her security, her future," Julia Davis, a Russian media analyst and columnist for the Every day Beast, informed CBS Information' Debora Patta. "She knew that, and he or she willingly took that danger… My hat is off to her."
"The Russian individuals can suppose, and are sensible. Solely we are able to cease this madness," Ovsyannikova stated in her on-line video message. "Go outdoors and protest. Don't be afraid. They can not jail us all."