DSTV pulls down Russia Today TV channel

(BBC) South African satellite broadcaster Multichoice has announced it will stop broadcasting state-owned Russia Today (RT) news channel on its DSTV platform until further notice.

In a statement, Multichoice cited sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia which “have led to the global distributor of the channel ceasing to provide the broadcast feed to all suppliers, including Multichoice”.

Multichoice’s DSTV service broadcasts to the whole continent.

It follows the European Union’s decision on Wednesday to suspend the distribution of Russia Today and Sputnik across the bloc, terming the channels as disinformation and information manipulation assets.

But Multichoice’s decision has been condemned by South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, who said it undermined press freedom and the rights of consumers.

“Multichoice has chosen which news outlets consumers must watch and dictated what content must be watched based on their allegiance in a complex conflict in Europe,” the party said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in Uganda said the country’s public broadcaster, UBC, will broadcast Russia Today daily for an hour in the morning and during late night.

Russia Today (RT) describes itself as an autonomous operation financed by the Russian Federation.

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