Putin is being promoted globally through YouTube which is restricted in Russia
Illustrative photo (Getty Images)
The Kremlin is turning to YouTube to promote Vladimir Putin globally while simultaneously restricting access to this American platform for ordinary Russians, citing Bloomberg.
Putin's administration has resumed posting videos on its channel over the past two weeks for the first time in six months.
"We are making use of every resource to spread information about the work of the president," said Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov to the TASS news agency.
A high-ranking pro-government legislator said in July that YouTube's loading speed on computers would be reduced by 70%, effectively blocking access to one of the most popular platforms used by critics of Putin to condemn his war against Ukraine and suppress civil freedoms.
Other social media platforms, including Facebook, X, and Instagram, have already been blocked by Russian authorities since the start of the war in February 2022.
Videos published by the Kremlin this month include a broadcast of Putin’s speech at an investment forum and his meeting with national security advisors from the BRICS group. A four-minute clip of the president meeting with an officer wounded in the battles in Ukraine drew the largest audience of 185,000 viewers.
Since July, Russian authorities have begun to slow down traffic on YouTube. Reports suggest that the Kremlin is likely to completely block YouTube in 2024.
YouTube is relatively popular in Russia and has been used by opposition activists, most notably the late Alexei Navalny, to spread criticism of the Russian government.
