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Ukraine: Russian TV Journalist ‘Disappears’ After ‘No War’ Protest

Published

4 years ago

March 15, 2022

A Russian journalist, Marina Ovsyannikova, who held up a sign in protest of the war in Ukraine behind the studio presenter of Russia’s state TV Channel One, has reportedly disappeared after she was arrested by the Russian authorities.

Ovsyannikova interrupted a live broadcast Monday evening, holding up a sign with “No War” written on it, denouncing the war in Ukraine.

According to a statement posted to the European Commission’s official Facebook page, Ovsyannikova shouted, “Stop the war. No to war,” when bursting onto the set of the country’s most-watched evening news broadcast.

“She condemned Moscow’s military action in Ukraine holding up a hand-written poster in Russian saying: ‘Don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you here.’ It was signed in English: ‘Russians against the war,’” the statement read.

Sky News reports that the Kremlin has reacted to the action of the journalist, calling it “hooliganism.”

Russia has imposed strict controls on news reporting, forbidding the use of the words “war” or “invasion” and instead referring to the conflict as a “special military operation.”

According to Sky News, those who break the laws – which came into force during the invasion – face up to 15 years in prison.

Meanwhile, an official of the European Commission has commended “brave” and “peace loving” Russian citizens for daring to speak out against Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In a video posted to the Commission’s verified Twitter handle, on Tuesday, the official said, “We applaud the courage of brave Russian citizens and peace loving Russian citizens who dare to express their opposition to this war by Putin despite all existing restrictions.

“The most recent example is the Russian TV journalist, Marina Ovsyannikova, who took a brave moral stance and dared to object Kremlin’s lies and propaganda live on air on a state-controlled TV channel.”

While accusing the CEO of the channel as one of the chief propagandists in the war, the official noted that Ovsyannikova “was detained and has disappeared” and “her lawyers are not allowed to contact her.”

In a pre-recorded video released after her arrest, Ovsyannikova condemned the war in Ukraine and regretted being a part of Russian propaganda.

“What is happening now in Ukraine is a crime, and Russia is the aggressor country. The responsibility for that aggression lies on the conscience of only one man, and that man is Vladimir Putin.

“My father is Ukrainian, my mother is Russian. They were never enemies. The necklace on my neck is a symbol that Russia must immediately stop the fratricidal war. Our brotherly nations will then still be able to make peace.

“Sadly, during the past years I worked with Channel One, I spread the Kremlin propaganda and I am very ashamed of this. I am ashamed I allowed lies to be told on TV screens. I am ashamed I allowed Russian people to be fooled.

“We were silent in 2014 when it all started. We did not go out to protest when the Kremlin poisoned Navalny. We simply watched this inhumane regime.

“Now the whole world has turned away from us and the next ten generations of our descendants will not wash away the shame of this fratricidal war.

“We the Russians are wise and proud; it is up to us to stop this madness. Come out to protest, do not be afraid. They cannot put all of us in jail,” she said.

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TikTok Bans 49,512 Live Sessions In Nigeria As Creators Stream Sex Romps

Published

11 hours ago

November 22, 2025

Editor

For the first time, TikTok has shared data on its enforcement of Live Monetization guidelines, following a surge in users going live during sexual activity. The platform released the figures during its West Africa Safety Summit in Dakar, Senegal, held in partnership with AfricTivistes.

In the second quarter of 2025, TikTok took action, including warnings and demonetization, against 2,321,813 Live sessions and 1,040,356 Live creators for violating its Live Monetization guidelines.

In Nigeria alone, 49,512 Live sessions were banned during the same period.

The Summit brought together senior government officials, policy experts, NGOs, regulators, media representatives, and industry leaders from West African nations, including Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Ethiopia.

Delegates discussed strategies to strengthen user protection and content moderation frameworks tailored to regional challenges.

The event marked a pivotal moment for TikTok’s regional safety efforts and its commitment to upholding global safety standards across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Experts shared insights, examined online safety challenges, and explored collaborative measures under TikTok’s #SaferTogether initiative.

TikTok’s Outreach and Partnerships Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, Duduzile Mkhize, emphasized the platform’s commitment to enhancing user security through stakeholder collaboration.

She stated: “While global, we remain hyper-local in our day-to-day efforts. The dialogue at this Summit is invaluable because only through insights sharing and collaboration with policymakers and local partners across West Africa can we prevent a fragmented and insecure digital environment.

“United action can help us guarantee a safe space for our community to discover, create, and connect responsibly.”

A key partner in this effort is Nigeria’s Dr. Akinola Olojo, expert on preventing and countering violent extremism, and member of TikTok’s Sub-Saharan Africa Safety Advisory Council.

He said: “The convening of various stakeholders in Dakar, sharing insights for collaborative action, proves that the work we do alongside TikTok is not in vain.

“We must move beyond reactive measures and continue to build proactive systems that empower communities to resist radicalization and leverage online spaces for positive social impact.”

Globally, TikTok removed over 189 million videos in the same quarter, representing just 0.7% of all content uploaded. Of these, 163.9 million were flagged by AI-driven moderation systems.

Notably, 99.1% of removals were detected proactively, and 94.4% were taken down within 24 hours. The platform also removed 76,991,660 fake accounts, alongside 25,904,708 accounts suspected to belong to users under the age of 13.

In Nigeria, TikTok removed 3,780,426 videos between April and June 2025 for violating Community Guidelines. Impressively, 98.7% were removed before being viewed, and 91.9% were taken down within 24 hours.

The data, released in TikTok’s Quarter 2 2025 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, underscores the platform’s ongoing commitment to creating a safe digital space for its users.

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Nnamdi Kanu’s Case Proof Of Religious Persecution In Nigeria – US lawmaker, John James

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

Former chairman of the Africa Subcommittee and now a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative, John James, has claimed that the case of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is proof of religious persecution in Nigeria.

James stated this when the United States House Subcommittee on Africa on Thursday, held a public hearing to review President Donald Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.

The hearing in Washington, DC included senior US State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders.

James claimed that in the case of Nnamdi Kanu, Nigeria’s Court of Appeal had struck down the charges against him and ordered his release in 2022.

He said: “Religious persecution is tied to political repression and weakening institutions in Nigeria. The detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a clear example.

“In 2022, Nigeria’s Court of Appeals struck down the charges against him and ordered his release.

“The UN Working Group for Arbitrary Detention has also called for his unconditional release, yet he remains in solitary confinement in deteriorating health and recently had to represent himself in court.

“Nigeria has signaled that the law is optional and targeting Christians is fair game. Just hours ago this morning, despite the pleas and cries of Nigerian people and many Nigerian lawmakers, Kanu was convicted on all charges.”

Nnamdi Kanu was on Thursday, sentenced to life imprisonment over terrorism charges.

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Nigerians Don’t Trust Their Govt – US Congressman Riley Moore

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

US Congressman Riley Moore has said that Nigerian people do not trust their government.

Moore stated this on Thursday at US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, which is investigating Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’, CPC.

“The Nigerian people don’t trust their government. ‘How can you trust a government that doesn’t show up when you ask them to?

“The Nigerian government must work with the US in cooperation to address these insecurity issues.

“A case that just happened recently in Plateau state. We had a pastor there who warned the Nigerian government that they were under attack. There’s imminent attack forces here in the next 24 hours. Please come and help us.

“The Nigerian government did not only ignore it but put up a press release that it is fake news,” he said.

Moore would be meeting with a delegation of senior members of the Nigerian government, over the devastating insecurity in Nigeria and the US designation of the country as CPC, DAILY POST reports.