Russia, accused of false news, deploys its own bill on false news

"As for the term" terrorist ", it has basically become an insult used to slander and discredit the opponents," he added.

Yet, "the proliferation of deliberately falsified information online is a widely recognized problem". As efforts to counter it can be abused, Shahbaz said. Already this year, at least five countries have pbaded laws regulating fake news online, he added.

These governments have adopted different approaches. In May, Kenya banned information "calculated or resulting in panic, chaos or violence" or "likely to discredit a person's reputation". Malaysia, like Russia, has chosen a different tact, targeting false information consequences. In April, the lower house of the Malaysian Parliament pbaded a bill banning false news, the first such measure in the world. France weighs its own measure.

Russian lawmakers also noticed these initiatives – some aimed at countering the false news made by the Russians – and co-opted their language and arguments. Marina A. Mukabenova, vice chairman of a parliament committee on information policy, told the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta that the false news caused a "heated discussion" and divided Russian society

. Russian legislators seem more focused on national dissent than on foreign interference. For example, the co-sponsor of the bill, Sergei M. Boyarsky, pointed out that there was a specific case of damaging online information: a series of exaggerated messages the number of victims of a fire in a shopping center in Siberia

". The tragedy of Kemerovo has shown how much our information space within social networks is vulnerable to the falsification of information, "he told the news agency Tbad

toll, write messages in social media that have helped to spark protests and calls local officials to resign. True or not, the fatality figures posted online have become a central part of a national debate in One of the first domestic crises in Putin's fourth presidential term The bill, however, would have stifled this debate

Activists are skeptical that the authorities are committed to the best interests of The language of public security often hides censorship efforts, said Artem Kozlyuk, the founder of Roskomsvoboda, an anti-censorship website.The end result, he said, is still "the expansion government powers and censorship. "