DSTV stops broadcast of Russian state-owned channel
South African satellite broadcaster MultiChoice has announced it will stop broadcasting the state-owned Russia Today (RT) news channel on its DSTV platform until further notice.
In a statement, MultiChoice cited sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) on Russia which "have led to the global distributor of the channel ceasing to provide the broadcast feed to all suppliers, including MultiChoice".
Advertisement
MultiChoice's DSTV service broadcasts to the whole continent.
It follows the EU's decision on Wednesday to suspend the distribution of Russia Today and Sputnik across the bloc, describing them as disinformation and information manipulation assets.
“In this time of war, words matter. We are witnessing massive propaganda and disinformation over this outrageous attack on a free and independent country," EU President von der Leyen said.
But MultiChoice's decision has been condemned by South Africa's opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, which said it undermined press freedom and the rights of consumers.
"MultiChoice has chosen which news outlets consumers must watch and dictated what content must be watched based on their allegiance in a complex conflict in Europe," the party said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in Uganda said the country's public broadcaster, UBC, would broadcast Russia Today daily for an hour in the morning and during late night.
Russia Today (RT) describes itself as an autonomous operation financed by the Russian Federation.
