Explained | Russia’s new law criminalising ‘fake news’ about the military, and its consequences

The law threatens 15 years in prison for manufacturing and distribution of false information that leads to “socially dangerous consequences”

The story so far: Global media outlets BBC and Bloomberg said on Friday, March 4, that they were temporarily halting reporting in Russia in the wake of a draft law passed by its Parliament on the same day. Signed amid the country’s ongoing military assault on Ukraine, the law makes it criminally liable to intentionally disseminate “false” or “fake” news about the Russian military, with punishment including fines and prison time upto 15 years.

The law was passed by both the Upper and Lower Houses of the Russian Parliament in quick succession and by a unanimous vote. It was signed by the country’s President Vladimir Putin just hours later.

Russian authorities have said multiple times that the country’s enemies such as the United States and European allies spread false information with the intention of spreading disharmony among Russians. Amid the volatile Ukraine standoff, Russia has declared reports about its military’s stumbles or civilian deaths in Ukraine as “fake news”. Russian state-controlled media meanwhile have been repeatedly accused by Western nations and news publications of spreading Kremlin propaganda or simply not acknowledging the assault on Ukraine.

On March 3, a group of Deputies submitted amendments to the criminal code to the State Duma (Lower House) of the Russian Federal Assembly. The amendments proposed to criminalise deliberately false information about the country’s military and its actions.

These amendments were introduced to the second reading of a Bill that was introduced in the Federal Assembly in 2018, which intended to impose criminal liability on enforcement of sanctions against Russia.

The Bill, with the added amendments was then passed in both Houses and approved by Mr. Putin on March 4.

The Speaker of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said that the law could come into force as early as March 5, adding that “its rules will force those who lied and made statements discrediting our armed forces to bear very grave punishment.”