Elon Musk, Spacex CEO, said that Starlink had been instructed by several governments to ban Russian news sources. However, he affirmed, “We will not do so unless at gunpoint.”
Elon Musk Refuses to Censor Russian Sources of News
Spacex’s CEO Elon Musk, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk both tweeted Saturday morning about Starlink being told by several governments to prevent Russian news sources from reaching Starlink. However, Musk said, “We will not do so unless at gunpoint. Sorry to be a free speech absolutist.”
Spacex operates Starlink. The service “provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet across the globe,” its website describes.
Twitter users praised Musk’s refusal to comply with government demands.
Replying to this tweet, a Twitter user told Musk, “Russian ‘news’ resources are propaganda resources.” The Spacex boss replied, “All new sources are partially propaganda, some more than others.”
Russia’s parliament passed a draconian censorship bill this week to prosecute anyone spreading “false news” regarding the Russian military. You could face fines or up to fifteen years imprisonment. Protestors who call for sanctions against Russia and anti-war activists can be charged. False News is anything that has not been officially sanctioned by the Kremlin.
In addition, Russia’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has issued strict guidelines for coverage of Ukraine and the Russian military. All media outlets in the country are restricted from publishing information that is not provided by government sources. It is forbidden, for example, to describe the attacks on Ukraine as an “invasion” or a “war.” Instead, they must be called a “special military operation.”
Starlink Supports Ukraine to Stay Connected
Mykhailo Fedorov, vice prime minister of Ukraine and the country’s minister of digital transformation, asked Musk for help on Feb. 26.
“While you try to colonize Mars — Russia tries to occupy Ukraine. While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people,” he wrote. “We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand.”
About 10 hours later, Musk replied to him: “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.” The vice prime minister announced on Twitter Monday that the equipment for Starlink had arrived. Musk was thanked by him Wednesday via Twitter.
Starlink connects our cities and saves lives.
Musk warned that Starlink, the sole non-Russian communication system in certain parts of Ukraine, is still functioning on Thursday. The “probability of being targeted is high,” he said.
He further revealed: “Some Starlink terminals near conflict areas were being jammed for several hours at a time. Our latest software update bypasses the jamming … Spacex reprioritized to cyber defense & overcoming signal jamming.”
“Hold strong Ukraine,” the Tesla CEO wrote Friday. He added, “Also my sympathies to the great people of Russia who do not want this.”
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