Russian soldiers are faced with a ban on posting “selfies,” photos, videos and blog posts to social media because they might be giving away too much information, including location details, according to the BBC.
The Russian Defense Ministry could pass a law that bans social media posts by contract soldiers and other military personnel who can be sent abroad, based on “security grounds,” the BBC reported.
“The bill says photos, videos and other material uploaded to the internet can reveal military details useful to an enemy. Automatic geolocation can show where a military unit is deployed,” the BBC explained, adding that posts from Russian soldiers in the past have “revealed forces deployed to Ukraine and Syria.”
VICE News reporter Simon Ostrovsky in 2015 reported that a Russian soldier’s social media posts gave away a location that confirmed the Russian military’s direct involvement in fighting in eastern Ukraine, which Russia repeatedly denies.
The BBC reported: “Ukraine and Western governments accuse Russia of supplying heavy weapons and troop reinforcements to the rebels. Russia admits that some Russian ‘volunteers’ are helping the rebels, but denies sending regular forces.”
Ostrovsky last week tweeted: “Who says you can’t have an impact as a journalist covering Russia?”
Russian selfies (Twitter)
You can watch VICE’s report here:
