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Clubhouse chat rooms have been used by Russian citizens to find out what is happening in the war in Ukraine.
The platform even started operating from the beginning of the invasion, that is, three weeks ago.
With Facebook and Instagram blocked in Russia, some activists have found in Clubhouse an alternative to learn about the war in Ukraine.
More than three weeks have passed since the invasion of Ukraine began, a warlike conflict in which social networks like Facebook and Instagram, two of the most popular in the world, have suffered severe consequences being blocked in the country led by Vladimir Putin.
Censorship in Russia has been much more real in these last three weeks since the military of that country began to invade Ukraine, with the Kremlin media being responsible for reporting on everything that happens, but from the of view and philosophy of the Russian authorities.
In this way, with Facebook and Instagram blocked, alternatives for Russians to learn about the war in Eastern Europe are minimal.
Clubhouse is one of those alternatives that Russian activists have found in the midst of a landscape in which censorship is very active; it has been reported that those who protest against the war can spend up to 15 years in jail.
The police of that country have even arrested 3,500 citizens in a single day and the number of detainees since the beginning of the invasion has risen to 11,000, according to information published in different media.
And it is that, somehow, Instagram had become one of the platforms through which citizens of Russia expressed themselves against the actions taken by Vladimir Putinsupporting Ukraine and rejecting the war.
Clubhouse, the alternative to censorship in Russia
However, now that there are few options for information, Clubhouse seems to be taking the lead and, according to information published in input, anti-war activists from various cities in Russia are using Clubhouse to find out what is happening in the world.
Topics that are banned in the country, such as the invasion of Ukraine, are some of those that are discussed in the chat rooms created by Club House.
In fact, the publication details that some of the chat rooms have been operating since the invasion of Ukraine began, a fact that, apparently, has gone unnoticed by the Kremlin’s regulatory body, forgetting one of the most used platforms in 2020. .
“Clubhouse gives Russians the opportunity to listen to the opinion of Ukrainian residents and not blindly trust federal TV channels,” says Ararat Gulyan, head of a sports organization in the Tver region.
In other words, Russian activists consider the platform as an important alternative to find out everything that happens regarding the conflict and learn the true motives of Russia.
However, despite being an alternative space to censorship, some chat rooms handle their information with care, and the fear of users of Club House and of those who march to protest the war has to do with a law to combat disrespect and fake news.
Citizens or companies that disseminate information not authorized by the government must remove it within 24 hours and, in addition, pay a fine. In case of threatening the operation of critical infrastructure, they will be blocked and will pay 1 million rubles (8,740 euros).
On the other hand, the law that punishes disrespect for the authorities is more focused on activists, who could spend up to 15 days in jail and in more severe cases they would pay sentences 10 or 15 years in prisonplus fines of 1.5 million rubles.
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