(Reuters) – Russia on Tuesday fined social media site Reddit for the first time for not deleting “banned content” that it said contained “fake” information about Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, RIA reported on Tuesday, citing a Moscow court.
Reddit joins a list of sites under scrutiny in Russia for failing to remove content that Moscow deems illegal, including Wikimedia, streaming service Twitch, and Google.
RIA said the court had fined Reddit 2 million roubles ($20,365). Reddit did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Since invading Ukraine last year, Russia has tightened controls over coverage of the conflict by media and bloggers, introducing tougher punishments for “discrediting” the actions of its armed forces or publishing false information about them.
($1 = 98.2075 roubles)
(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
