Twitter reports that it has restricted the content of more than 300 official Kremlin accounts, including that of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the social network, the contents of the accounts will not be displayed or recommended on the Twitter page.
The company said it would take action against any country that “restricts Internet access”.
Putin currently has two official Twitter accounts – one in Russian and one in English – with a total of over 5 million followers.
As part of the action, content in more than 300 official Kremlin accounts will not be “recommended”, meaning the algorithm will not promote the contents of those accounts.
Starting today, we will not amplify or recommend government accounts belonging to states that limit access to free information and are engaged in armed interstate conflict – whether Twitter is blocked in that country or not.
— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) April 5, 2022
The accounts have been criticized for spreading misinformation and propaganda during the Russian military aggression in Ukraine, but unlike the posts on Twitter by Russian state-affiliated media, they have not previously been subject to a specific moderation by the social network.
On March 10, the Russian embassy on the official account of Great Britain claimed that the bombing of a hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was falsified. Twitter later removed the post claiming the news was false.
Twitter says it is enforcing rules for any country restricting access to online services, but these decisions initially only affect the accounts of the Government of the Russian Federation.
