Russia demands Google censor "false" ads about Ukraine invasion

Russia demanded that Google block online-video ads it described as “false political information” about Ukraine in its campaign to censor any outside information about the invasion, reported The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

Roskomnadzor, the Russian censorship bureau, said Google’s YouTube was running “large advertising campaigns to misinform the Russian audience” that are “aimed at creating a distorted perception of current events” and stoking protests.

The agency demanded Google stop showing the ads and moderate similar ads in the future, but stopped short of threatening to block YouTube.

This is not Roscomnadzor’s first interaction with Google over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Three days ago, it ordered Google to block website ads that it said contained inaccurate information about casualties sustained by Russian forces and Ukrainian civilians, reported Reuters.

Russia has engaged tech companies like Google and Facebook’s owner Meta in an attempt to control outside information entering the country.

Roskomnadzor said last week that it was “partially blocking” access to Facebook, claiming it had censored state media outlets. Meta responded by demoting Russian state media on Facebook and Instagram, meaning their content will recommended less in users’ feeds, reported CNN.

Meanwhile, Russian state-controlled media channels were blocked across Europe as part of the European Union’s sanctions against Moscow.

Google did take action against online activists using Google Maps to leave news about Ukraine in the reviews of restaurants in Russia.

"Due to a recent increase in contributed content on Google Maps related to the war in Ukraine, we've put additional protections in place to monitor and prevent content that violates our policies for Maps, including temporarily blocking new reviews, photos, and videos in the region,” a Google spokesperson told CNET.