Thread by @jessbrandt

As Twitter, Meta, and Microsoft take steps to limit the reach of Russian state media, in some cases at the request of Western governments, the Kremlin's propaganda apparatus is predictably pushing back with claims of Big Tech and government censorship.

Also predictably, Kremlin media are also using this opportunity to push traffic to their Telegram channel, where they argue users can find "censorship-free" information about Russia's "special operation" in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, I wrote for @BrookingsInst's #TechStream about ways Moscow uses censorship claims to, among other things, diminish the appeal of a democratic internet and drive traffic from major social-media platforms to darker corners of the web.

brookings.edu/techstream/how…