MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th August, 2020) Twitter's decision to label media outlets from Russia as state-affiliated is a manifestation of a policy of double standards and violates democratic principles, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"We regard the labeling by the administration of the social network Twitter, after Facebook, of Russian media accounts as affiliated with the state, while Western media sources receiving funding via the government remained unaffected, as a violation of the key democratic principles of ensuring the free flow of information and unimpeded access to it. It is another manifestation of the systemic policy of 'double standards' and discrimination on a country basis, which are in line with Washington's foreign policy guidelines and unfair competition of the US news mainstream with alternative sources of information," the statement says.
The ministry added that they see in the "desire of politicized and tendentious actions of US IT giants to oust the Russian media content from the international media scene, reducing its citation."
The ministry called on internet platforms to resign from powers of a self-proclaimed political censor and not to deprive their audience of the right to free and unrestricted access to information in violation of fundamental democratic principles.
"We expect that specialized international structures and human rights organizations will react appropriately and give an impartial assessment of the actions of the US media corporation that are dubious from the point of view of ensuring free dissemination of information," the ministry added.
