There is an information war under strict rules. Dmitry Zhuk on blocking Belarusian media channels on YouTube

YouTube has blocked the channels Radio Kultura BY, Radio Stalitsa, First Channel of Belarusian Radio and a number of other resources. About why the Ministry of Information recommends citizens of our country to give preference to national video platforms, on the air of the talk show “Budni” on “SBTV” and “Alfa Radio”, said the Minister of Information of Belarus Dmitry Zhuk, writes sb.by.

Such actions on the part of video hosting should not cause surprise in society, Dmitry Zhuk noted:

YouTube never protects anyone, especially its community. We have already said that this will happen. Therefore, it is definitely not surprising. Grab your head and hysteria - even more so. Perhaps this is the kind of reaction that is expected of us. In this studio, and not only with me, but also with other guests, many times discussed that there is an information war. And it's done with very rigid methods. YouTube is an American platform, a foreign territory. They do as they see fit. The fact that this is censorship, a violation of rights and freedoms, first of all the same freedom of speech, which they shout about on every corner, is obvious. The question is different. How ready are we to adapt to these strict rules of information warfare on foreign soil? I'll tell you, we've adapted.

The Minister of Information recalled that the country had already faced a similar situation in the spring, when four leading Belarusian media channels were simultaneously removed in April.

- The damage that was caused by this removal of the channels has been eliminated. Audience restored. We need to develop and implement other methods of work on these platforms, as our Belarusian media do. And not only the media, but also citizens. A huge thank you to those bloggers who have a realistic and patriotic viewpoint on these platforms. Yes, it is, shall we say, an unfriendly environment. We know and understand that very well. And the strategy here can not be one-sided, one-dimensional, and even more so to reduce everything to “not let and close” is not the most rational approach in this situation, said Dmitry Zhuk. If the actions of such platforms threaten national interests, the state has ways to protect citizens from this influence. Our media, and not just the media, are finding ways to work on these platforms. Unfortunately, there is an information war under strict rules.

Against the background of such discriminatory steps, the Ministry of Information and Information strongly recommends that Belarusian citizens give preference to those resources that are located in our country. So, VIDEOBEL.BY collected all the content of the leading Belarusian media. In this regard, the presenter of “Budney” Vadim Shepet asked the guest of the studio what benefits an ordinary user receives by switching to domestic information platforms.

- There is import substitution in all areas, including information. The government created the service VIDEOBEL.BY. It will provide Belarusians with reliable information. Providing citizens with reliable information is the duty of the authorities. And power fulfills this duty. It will take time for this import substitution to take place in our minds, said Dmitry Zhuk. Today we have an effective platform that we are developing. It is gaining popularity by the number of views, the indicators are already very impressive. And most importantly, we were able to create an alternative here in our country. It was once a very important step, a decision supported by a presidential decree. It's all working today. The service will develop, it will become more accessible. It is already possible to download applications on certain platforms, which Belarusians are used to, you can watch through the Internet on the website, there will be other ways. All our state-owned media, television channels, first of all, broadcast completely online there. And the video content that is created is protected from such hacking, I would say, piracy from the outside.

The talk show “Budney” is released on weekdays on the morning air of “Alfa Radio”. Each issue discusses the most relevant topics from the life of the country and the world. Political scientists, scientists, public figures and journalists of leading media participate in the discussions. See the full version of the program on the VIDEOBEL.BY website and on the SBTV YouTube channel.