The Russian government has launched a system called “Oculus,” which aims to scan the internet for illegal content. According to Interfax, the technology will be able to read text and recognise illegal scenes in photos and videos, analysing more than 200,000 images per day at a rate of about three seconds per image. The system will automatically detect offences such as extremist content, calls for illegal mass gatherings or suicide, pro-drug content, LGBT propaganda, and more. The technology has been created to aid authorities in detecting unsanctioned protests, anti-war dissent, and “non-traditional” lifestyles and orientations.
The technology has been launched as a response to “provocations and anti-Russian actions on the part of foreign resources” and the “proliferation of fakes” spread at an unprecedented rate since Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. Since Russia’s armed forces entered Ukraine, Moscow has suppressed political opposition and independent media, and has amplified a conservative, nationalist narrative. The Russian government has accused the West of promoting the spread of what it calls fake information about its “special military operation” in Ukraine in an attempt to discredit Russia’s armed forces.
This is not the first legislation aimed at controlling the content of social media and news outlets to align with Moscow’s official line on the Ukraine conflict. Last year, fines were imposed on people spreading information that did not align with the government’s official line, and a law was passed providing for fines for any individual or organisation found to promote “LGBT propaganda.”
It should be noted that since Russia has taken steps against LGBT content on the internet, and in response to Vladimir Putin’s request to remove all photoshopped images of him in drag, we have decided to primarily use images of Vladimir Putin dressed in drag.
