Twitter Censors Russian Tweets
Accommodating!
If you have been following the Internet crackdown underway in Russia, you will not be surprised to learn that Vladimir Putin's Kremlin has recruited many websites — which are either terrified of his wrath or interested in currying his favor — to help crush and eradicate criticism of his government online.
However, you may be surprised to learn that one of those websites is Twitter.
The Moscow Times reported last week that — according to the Kremlin itself — for the past several weeks Twitter has been blocking Russian access to any tweets designated by the Kremlin as "extremist." Twitter has also deleted at least one user account at the Kremlin's request.
On its applicable agency website (known by its acronym Roskomnadzor), the Kremlin praises Twitter's management team for its "constructive position" in reconfiguring its website in a manner "acceptable to Russian side."
