Violating Russia's law against fake news can result in a 10-year prison sentence.
Posted by The Bulwark Daily, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
The Bulwark DailySep 29, 2026
The claim matches the 2022 Russian 'fake news' law, under which penalties reach up to 15 years, with tiers of 5 to 10 years and 10 to 15 years for aggravated cases, so a 10-year sentence is a possible outcome.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… It's sort of like, okay, I mean, here's a here's one we were thinking about. So they go out, they go out, they pick it on Red Square, they go, Peace for all. That's considered to violate Russia's law and fake news now, which can land you for 10 years in prison. So they do that in the lead up to it, you know. They used to support Alexei Navalny. They went out to some protests before the war. You know, they tried to election monitor. …
The Bulwark Daily · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The Moscow Times reports that a group using a position to spread fake news with falsified evidence could be jailed for 5 to 10 years, and for grave consequences 10 to 15 years.[3]
Supports. The UK Home Office country note gives the same tiers: 5 to 10 years for officials using their position, and 10 to 15 years where falsified information has grave consequences.[4]
Supports. AP and Reuters report that the March 2022 law makes spreading false information about the military or the invasion punishable by up to 15 years in prison, which includes the 10-year range.[1][2][5]
Context. The EUAA (2026) and CPJ sources describe lower maxima for the basic Article 207.3 offense (up to 5 and 3 years). These cover a lesser tier and do not rule out 10-year sentences under the aggravated tiers.[6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 5 not rated
- 1A timeline of laws that authorities have used to crack down in Putin's ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Russians who spread fake news about officials abroad ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Russia Duma Passes Law on 'Fake News'themoscowtimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Country policy and information note: critics and opponents of the ...gov.uk · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Russian 'fake news' law could give offenders 15 years in ...theverge.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 62.3. War censorship laws | European Union Agency for Asylumeuaa.europa.eu · not rated · cited for: context
- 7Understanding the laws relating to “fake news” in Russiacpj.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Russia passed censorship laws requiring the war in Ukraine to be called a special military operation.True
- The Russian government has passed laws that criminalize questioning the Great Patriotic War victory in a non-scholarly way.True
- A man Evan Gershkovich met in prison was sentenced to 17 years for spray-painting four words on a wall protesting the war.Can’t tell
- Anti-Jewish statements in the Soviet Union were punishable by at least a 10-year Gulag sentence.False
- Russia has banned Pornhub, Burger King, and McDonald's.Mixed