MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. Western countries are suppressing journalists who attempt to present alternative viewpoints, a practice that has become commonplace for them, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko stated at a meeting with journalists to mark Russian Press Day.
"We can clearly see the difference between how media outlets operate in Russia and in the West. It has become common practice in the West to cleanse the information space of journalists who try to convey alternative viewpoints. We have repeatedly witnessed Russian reporters being physically prevented from doing their jobs <...>. Additionally, the offices of our TV companies have been shut down," the speaker said.
In her view, this can be described as "an aggressive special operation by Western regimes to maintain their hegemony."
"The massive scale of censorship in the US, including ideological censorship, has recently been confirmed even by Mark Zuckerberg. He compared it to Orwell's dystopia 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' and directly blamed it on the White House administration and US intelligence agencies. Contrast this with the recent press conference and Q&A session held by our president, where American, British, and other journalists were able to ask any question to the head of state live, openly, without restrictions, and receive detailed answers," Matviyenko emphasized.
She expressed her conviction that this demonstrates Vladimir Putin's personal respect for the work of journalists. "So who has real freedom of speech - and where is it just an illusion?" the speaker added.
According to the politician, reliable information and accurate words play a crucial role in today’s world. "I see great merit in the Russian journalistic community for ensuring that, despite the global information aggression directed against Russia and the work of numerous fake news factories in the West and Ukraine, the truth about current events is delivered to our citizens daily and hourly. United by this truth, Russian society demonstrates an exceptional level of cohesion, resilience, and understanding of the importance of the tasks and goals we face," Matviyenko said.