Russia is determined to make RuTube happen
Russia has tried nearly every trick in the book to control what people say on social media. Teachers have been declared foreign agents for their FB posts. Teenagers have been targeted with criminal cases for jokes on TikTok. Entire platforms, like Telegram, have been blocked and then unblocked. And Russia has repeatedly pressured Silicon Valley companies to remove content it doesn't like.
The next step: Russian-born social media platforms.
According to an investigation by the independent media groups Agentstvo and iStories, the Kremlin is investing huge sums of money into RuTube, an alternative to YouTube, and Yappy, a Russian version of TikTok.
These government-approved platforms controlled by friendly companies could give government censors even more control. And they could inspire other authoritarians vying for a monopoly on digital spaces.