Russia reportedly banned the BBC to stop the spread of so-called “misinformation” regarding its war against Ukraine.
According to Reuters, Putin has complained that western media organizations have unfairly covered the conflict.
Russia's communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, said it blocked the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Deutsche Welle, and other media outlets.
"Access has been restricted to a host of information resources owned by foreigners," the watchdog said.
"The grounds for restricting access to these information resources on the territory of the Russian Federation was their deliberate and systematic circulation of materials containing false information."
For its part, the BBC said it was not afraid of Russia’s censorship of the site and would not be deterred in its news reporting.
"Access to accurate, independent information is a fundamental human right which should not be denied to the people of Russia, millions of whom rely on BBC News every week," it said.
"We will continue our efforts to make BBC News available in Russia, and across the rest of the world."
One author pointed out the hypocrisy that Putin still had access to his Twitter account while former president Donald Trump remained banned.
“Russia has now banned the BBC and to stop the spread of “misinformation,” Vivek Ramaswamy tweeted. “Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin still continues to enjoy access to his Twitter account while the 45th U.S. President does not.”
