You couldn’t make this one up. A 12-year-old girl goes on a hit Russian matchmaking program to help her divorced father find a new wife, but ends up being bullied by the show’s hosts. When she stands up for herself online, the teenager finds herself battling not only Russia’s largest state TV network, but YouTube.

This is what happened to Anastasia (she didn’t want her last name broadcast) when she appeared on “Let’s Get Married,” triggering a David vs. Goliath-style struggle over how rules designed to protect content producers are increasingly being abused to silence free expression.

The popular dating show, broadcast on Russia’s Channel One, employs tricks familiar to daytime TV viewers in the West: intimidating speed rounds of questioning, dramatic reveals of exes and estranged family members, and tearful confessions, in front of a live studio audience.

After filming was over, producers released a social media trailer for the program, with one host calling Anastasia “hooorrible” in the comments below

Three female hosts — one of them an astrologer — grill each contestant after they’ve been introduced to the potential spouses selected for them, on a set ringed with mock Greek columns. It’s not unusual for the children of the romantic hopefuls to be included in the mix too.