The laws on punishment for spreading false news and insulting the authorities have been in force for almost a month. Many questions arose about this - what would they be punished for?
Roskomnadzor organized a closed meeting for the heads of Russian media, in which, in addition to representatives of the supervisory agency, officials from the presidential administration and the Russian Prosecutor General's Office took part.
They tried to convey to the editors-in-chief the idea that the application of the law would be “reasonable” and “point”. Officials urged not to draw conclusions based on just one case.
"In any case, Roskomnadzor will first warn, not block immediately," the source quoted the media source as promising the organizers of the meeting.
The heads of the media, in particular, were interested in whether it is now possible to use the expression “crooks and thieves” in the press, the author of which is Alexei Navalny.
This question was even asked several times, but the meeting participants did not hear an unambiguous answer from representatives of Roskomnadzor.
Roskomnadzor representatives explained that it is necessary to look at the context and application each time, said one of the meeting participants.
According to another interlocutor familiar with the content of the conversation, a representative of Roskomnadzor nevertheless said that, in his personal opinion, such a phrase could be considered an insult. Moreover, even if the publication contains a reservation that this is Navalny's opinion.
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In addition, the heads of the media asked if their publications could quote the protesters if they chant: "Putin is a thief." The Deputy Head of Roskomnadzor Vadim Subbotin, who was present at the meeting, again expressed his opinion on this matter: yes, he would consider it an insult to the authorities. At the same time, Subbotin recalled that in any case, such an assessment must first be given by the prosecutor's office.
“You can’t offend the organ as a whole, but people can,” one of the meeting participants recounts the main conclusion. "That is, you cannot offend the State Duma, but you can deputies." “And Putin is unique here, because he is both a person and an authority, and in the minds of people it is inseparable,” he sneers.
What about fakes?
The media representatives were worried about how the authorities would punish for the spread of "fake news". First of all, officials are going to look at the public outcry and whether the false news had any negative impact. As an example, journalists were given the news that the authorities were hiding corpses after a fire in the Kemerovo shopping and entertainment center "Winter cherry".
“And if the media reported that Mizulina wants to ban yoga in jail, then let her figure it out herself,” retells the thought of the officials.
But it seems that the authorities themselves do not yet fully understand how to distinguish between dangerous fakes, one of the participants in the closed meeting got the impression: “They have no explanation. Subbotin nodded at the Prosecutor General's Office and said that his department would simply follow the instructions. And the Prosecutor General's Office was generally confused in the testimony. And when their representative said that he would be guided by the conclusions of Roskomnadzor, everyone laughed."
