Novaya Gazeta, Ekho Moskvy, Dozhd and seven other Russian media are under investigation, the censorship authority Roskomnadzor announces on its website.
The reason is that the listed media "conveyed socially important information, which appeared to be reliable but did not reflect reality".
The information in question is the shelling of Ukrainian cities, the deaths of civilians in the country and the fact that Russia's actions are called invasion, attack or declaration of war.
The authority is now threatening to close and prosecute the media that have violated state censorship, which according to Roskomnadzor can result in up to five million rubles, equivalent to about half a million kronor, in fines.
- Roskomnadzor strongly recommends the editors of the mass media to determine its reliability in accordance with the Mass Media Act before publishing material.
We emphasize that Russian official sources of information have reliable and up-to-date information, the authority writes on its website.
One of the media being investigated is the magazine Zhurnalist, which has published a video in which Novaja Gazeta's editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov gives a speech.
Muratov, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, calls the war a war.
Earlier warned the media
On the same day that Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the censorship authority issued a warning to the country's media urging it to use only official Russian sources.
And that the reporting Roskomnadzor considers to be false will immediately be blocked.
In the clip, you can hear a Russian journalist from the day of the invasion when the censorship was ordered.