Russians and Ukrainians beat blockages to access RFE/RL

4 March 2022

Russians and Ukrainians beat blockages to access RFE/RL

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has condemned the blocking of access within Russia to websites run by its Russian, Tatar-Bashkir, and North Caucasus services, including the Russian-language North.Realities, Siberia.Realities, Idel.Realities, and Caucasus.Realities sites. Access to the sites was blocked after RFE/RL refused to comply with demands to delete information about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from Russian state media-monitoring agency Roskomnadzor.

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said: “Putin is feeding Russians a steady diet of lies about the scope and costs of the war in Ukraine. RFE/RL refuses to censor our content at this critical moment for our Russian audiences. They deserve the truth and we will continue to provide them with factual information about their government’s actions and the consequences that they must now endure.”

A number of other Russian-language websites producing news content from outside of Russia were also blocked today, including the Latvia-based meduza.io, BBC, Deutsche Welle and Voice of America (VOA). Access was blocked on February 28 to the websites of RFE/RL’s Crimea.Realities and the Current Time digital and TV network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.

Since Russia began its invasion, Russian and Ukrainian audiences have been flocking to RFE/RL and its several Russian-language content platforms. On the first day of the invasion (February 24), 527% more Ukrainians and 275% more Russians viewed RFE/RL videos via You Tube. Across all digital platforms, Current Time has earned more than 240 million video views since the invasion, reflecting a nearly tenfold increase over the network’s average pre-war number of weekly video views. Page views by audiences in Russia to RFE/RL websites have nearly doubled in the week since the invasion to just over 2 million, while views to RFE/RL videos on YouTube grew by nearly five times to almost 15 million.

During the period February 23-March 1, audiences viewed RFE/RL videos 436.4 million times on Facebook, 305.4 million times on YouTube, and 83.2 million times on Instagram – reflecting increases of 265 percent, 406 percent, and 185 percent, respectively, over the previous week.

This surge in audience numbers is indicative of a region-wide demand for reliable and factual information, which RFE/RL provides through its network of reporters offering perspectives from Ukrainians and Russians affected by the war.

RFE/RL is also working with the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to further expand its reach by providing its content to media outlets around the world. RFE/RL and Current Time continue to field numerous requests for their content and program distribution from news outlets in Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Romania, among others.

Audiences around the world are following RFE/RL’s reporting on the physical and human toll of the war. As the Kremlin and state media have refrained from disclosing details of the casualties Russia has incurred in its invasion of Ukraine, RFE/RL spoke to mothers of Russian soldiers who were shocked to learn their sons were fighting in Ukraine, after being told they were on training exercises.

Since before the war began, RFE/RL has been preparing for the eventuality that the Kremlin would act on its threats. RFE/RL’s Russian, North Caucasus, and Tatar-Bashkir services and Idel.Realities, Caucasus.Realities, Crimea.Realities, North.Realities, Siberia.Realities, and Current Time websites have been educating their audiences about how to continue to access their reporting in the event that their websites are blocked. Mirror sites – complete copies of each website located at a different online address – have been set up for all of the blocked websites, and their content can also be accessed using virtual public network (VPN) clients such as nThlink. Each of the affected websites also has a robust presence on popular social media platforms such as Telegram, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and VKontakte, and offer mobile applications via Google Play and Apple’s App Store, which include a built-in VPN.

Current Time is a 24/7 Russian-language digital and TV network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. In addition to reporting uncensored news, it is the largest provider of independent, Russian-language films to its audiences. Broadcasters interested in picking up Current Time programming should contact Adam Gartner of USAGM’s Eurasia Marketing Office at atgartne@usagm.gov.

About RFE/RL
RFE/RL relies on its networks of local reporters to provide accurate news and information to more than 37 million people every week in 27 languages and 23 countries where media freedom is restricted, or where a professional press has not fully developed. Its videos were viewed 7 billion times on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram/IGTV in FY2021. RFE/RL is an editorially independent media company funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress through the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

NHK WORLD-JAPAN launches Ukrainian AI subtitling

3 March 2022

NHK WORLD-JAPAN launches Ukrainian AI subtitling

NHK WORLD-JAPAN began providing Ukrainian subtitles for its live video streaming on March 2, 2022. The translations are generated by artificial intelligence technology.

Ukrainian subtitling is available for the 24-hour English programming streamed on NHK WORLD-JAPAN’s website: https://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/uk/live_cc/

NHK WORLD-JAPAN delivers news every hour on the hour.

Currently, the channel’s AI-translated languages are:

Ukrainian, Chinese (simplified/traditional), French, Indonesian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese

How to watch

Simply select a language from the list on the site at https://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/live/

NHK WORLD has a Russian language radio service. Details are online at https://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/ru/

Surge in Russian audiences for BBC News

2 March 2022

Surge in Russian audiences for BBC News

The audience for the BBC’s Russian language news website more than tripled its year-to-date weekly average, with a record reach of 10.7m people in the last week (compared to 3.1m).

In English, bbc.com visitors in Russia were up 252% to 423,000 last week.

Digital live pages, giving people updates, explanation, and reports from expert journalists on the ground, are proving hugely popular. The live page in Russian covering the invasion was the most visited site across the whole of the BBC World Service’s non-English language services, with 5.3m views.

Audiences for the Ukrainian language site more than doubled year-to-date, with a reach of 3.9m in the past week (compared to 1.7m) and the audience for bbc.com increased 154% in Ukraine.

These numbers represent direct traffic to BBC websites, and are likely to rise significantly when social media audience figures are factored in.

In total, 77.4m unique visitors consumed BBC online coverage of Ukraine in English in the first five days of the invasion, with almost 200 million views of the live page on Ukraine.

Tim Davie, BBC Director-General, says: “It’s often said truth is the first casualty of war. In a conflict where disinformation and propaganda is rife, there is a clear need for factual and independent news people can trust – and in a significant development, millions more Russians are turning to the BBC.

“We will continue giving the Russian people access to the truth, however we can.”

As part of its resilience operation to ensure news is available in Ukraine and Russia, the BBC has also stepped up services on other platforms. It has launched two new shortwave frequencies in the region for four hours of World Service English news a day. These frequencies can be received clearly in Kyiv and parts of Russia.

Tim Davie paid tribute to journalists working in Ukraine and Russia, saying: “Brave and committed journalists – from a range of news organisations – are doing vital work reporting events in Ukraine. Not only those who have travelled there to report, but journalists for whom Ukraine is home, including our talented colleagues in the BBC’s Ukrainian service. Events are moving quickly. We want to ensure the BBC’s output continues to reach people in Ukraine, Russia and beyond. Trusted news has never been more vital.”

Additional shortwave frequencies are: 15735 kHz 16:00 – 18:00 GMT and 5875 kHz 22:00 – 00:00 GMT

BBC services in Russia include news updates on Telegram, a wealth of video and text-based content on Instagram and Facebook, hugely popular video explainers and round ups on YouTube, and regular editions of popular news podcast What Just Happened.

In Ukraine, the BBC provides digital content via the BBC News Ukraine website bbc.ua, its YouTube channel, Facebook, Twitter @BBC_ua, Instagram, Telegram and Viber, the BBC News Ukraine Monday to Friday TV news programme rebroadcast by Espreso TV in Ukraine (at 1700-1730 and 2100-2130 local time), and the BBC’s other news services including BBC World News TV, the website bbc.com/news and other language services.

TV3 Group offers simulcast translations of channel Ukraina 24

2 March 2022

TV3 Group offers simulcast translations of channel Ukraina 24

On February 27, TV3 Group started rebroadcasting news channel Ukraina 24 on all its platforms in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. To make channel content more accessible, TV3 Group has launched an English language live audio track of the channel, while also continuing work on Russian translation, which will be available starting March 2.

TV3 Group will provide most of the day time content translation, aiming to cover more hours by attracting more interpreters.

Channel Ukraina 24 is joint news channel of Ukraine’s biggest media groups and is currently the main source of information about what is happening in the country. It is available on TV3 Group’s Go3, Home3 and TV3 Play platforms.

TV3 Group invites all media companies to join this initiative by adding this channel to your cable and satellite platforms.

The technical parameters for broadcasting are as follows: satellite Astra 4A at 4.8°E, Frequency: 11938 MHz, polariaation: linear Vertical, Standard: DVB-S2, modulation: 8PSK, Symbol rate: 27500, FEC: 5/6, Roll-off 0,2, Service ID: 10650, Channel name: Ukraina 24 International/ languages: Ukrainian (Original), English, Russian and Lithuanian.

As mentioned earlier, the distribution of Russian-produced content is being suspended on all TV3 Group’s platforms and Russian-produced content is being removed from the programs of the media group’s TV channels.

AIB condemns attack on Kyiv TV tower

2 March 2022

AIB condemns attack on Kyiv TV tower

The AIB condemns the attack by Russia on the TV tower in Kyiv on Tuesday 1 March.

The tower is located at Babyn Yar, site of the murder in 1941 of more than 33,000 Jews in 48 hours. It is understood that the Babyn Yar Memorial sustained damage in the attack.

This appears to be an attempt to prevent Ukrainian citizens – men, women and children – having access to critical news and information at a time when their lives are in mortal danger.

It is essential that media organisations in Ukraine are able to report on the situation and the AIB calls on Russia to guarantee the safety and security of all journalists and colleagues in media organisations in Ukraine.

The AIB is also concerned by actions taken within Russia to restrict access to Ekho Moskvy radio and Dozhd TV whose news and information services have been essential for Russian citizens. The AIB is worried that the chief editor and other staff of Dozhd TV feel the need to leave Russia over fears for their safety.

The AIB stands in solidarity with all journalists and media colleagues who are bringing essential news and information from Ukraine to audiences in the country and around the world. It is essential that they are allowed to work unhindered and without threat to them and their families.

AIB launches survey on IoT and journalism

1 March 2022

AIB launches survey on IoT and journalism

Anjuli Shere, AIB research analyst and cyber security PhD student at the University of Oxford, and pre-doctoral fellow at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, is undertaking a major piece of research that to help members of the media understand and counter threats to journalism from novel networked devices, known as the Internet of Things.

This research is necessary because journalists face many threats – from physical attacks while covering protests and riots, to laws citing national security justifications that encroach on source protections, and increasingly, technologies such as spyware. All of these threats can be facilitated and exacerbated by the so-called “consumer Internet of Things” (the IoT): a variety of common networked devices that include gaming systems, smart cars and fitness trackers. While there has been a lot of reporting on the topic of spyware, there is relatively little awareness of the dangers that the IoT poses to journalists and press freedom generally. Like spyware, IoT can monitor messages, location information and daily actions. Unlike spyware, the IoT can also facilitate cyber-physical threats. In an article for The Journalist’s Resource, Anjuli Shere discussed the issues with ubiquitous and designed-for-subtly IoT technologies being effectively an “unknown unknown”.

The AIB has now invited representatives of its Member organisations around the world to take part in the survey, and this is being widened to the whole broadcast news media.

This survey is intended to evaluate a framework that Anjuli has developed which labels and categorises these threats to journalists and possible countermeasures, to assess if and how these can be useful for journalist risk assessment and management. The survey will cover basic biographical information to establish relevant expertise and experience in the media, as well as questions to collect thoughts on Anjuli’s research. It will take approximately 45 minutes to complete, with a deadline of 1st April 2022.

While the ways in which journalists defend themselves against threats regarding smartphones and laptops are known and documented, Anjuli is researching the impact of novel networked technologies (known as the Internet of Things) on journalism. Anjuli’s goal is to determine which factors (e.g. aspects of logistics, preparation, personnel, etc.) might be sources of best practice and effective for cyber protection for the journalistic ecosystem in the future. It is hoped that this research will be an important step towards protecting media freedom in a world with a rapidly evolving attack environment.

This research study has been approved by The University of Oxford’s Central Ethics Committee (reference: CS_C1A_021_027), and contributes to Anjuli’s doctoral research.

If you are interested in joining this important research project, please contact the AIB Secretariat on +44 20 7993 2557 or email register [@] aib.org.uk.