Twitter Labels And Restricts Media Accounts Controlled By The Belarusian Government, Will Apply Globally

Twitter Inc., imposed restrictions on media accounts supported by the Belarusian government. (photo: doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA – Twitter Inc., will place a label on and limit the spread of posts from Belarusian state media and their senior staff. This was announced by the microblogging company on Thursday, March 10.

Twitter made this move with the aim of curbing misinformation from Russia's allies in their invasion of Ukraine.

The world's social media services, including Twitter, in recent years have begun to label accounts of state broadcasters and news websites to note that the organization is backed by a particular government. Labeled accounts and their posts are restricted in search results and recommendations on Twitter.

Yoel Roth, head of Twitter's website integrity, told reporters that the company would label about 15 Belarusian news outlets. One of the largest is the BelTa news agency, which has nearly 37,000 followers on the service.

"We have seen evidence that these outlets and their affiliates in Russia have engaged in an information war, and are using the media and other assets they control to spread favorable narratives and to confuse and distract the public about what is going on," Roth said. as quoted by Reuters.

In addition there are broadcasters, Belteleradio, and radio stations that share the "editorial points" developed by the Belarusian government.

Meanwhile BelTa and Belteradio did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this matter.

Belarus, Russia's neighbor and ally, served as one of the launch pads for Russian troops for last month's invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been calling its actions in Ukraine a "special operation".

According to BelTa, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko told his defense ministry last Thursday that they must prevent any attempts to cut off Russian supply lines and attempts to "attack Russia from behind."

Twitter's current policy is to only label state-affiliated media "where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressure, and/or control over production and distribution."

Twitter has labeled the state media of more than 20 major countries. They also plan to expand the policy globally. "Belarus is prioritized given the context of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine," Roth said.

This makes the restrictions on government and business in Belarus have been doubled.

The European Union last week effectively banned 70% of all imports from Belarus, and American Express and Dassault Systemes were among the companies suspending business there.

Meanwhile, World Athletics also banned Belarus from hosting sporting events after previously banning its athletes from participating.