{
  "id": 191,
  "slug": "2022-belarus-labels-dw-extremist",
  "title": "Belarus: Deutsche Welle and other outlets labeled 'extremist'",
  "occurred_on": "2022-03-09",
  "occurred_on_precision": "day",
  "ended_on": null,
  "jurisdiction": "BY",
  "country": "BY",
  "continent": "europe",
  "level": "national",
  "type": null,
  "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling",
  "leader_slug": "alexander-lukashenko",
  "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.",
  "outcome": "sustained",
  "outcome_on": "2022-03-09",
  "outcome_note": "The designation brought the total number of outlets labeled extremist in Belarus to 20 and was not reported as reversed.",
  "granularity": "granular",
  "era": "2020s",
  "summary": "A Minsk court declared all output from German broadcaster Deutsche Welle \"extremist,\" alongside a local newspaper and a Russian blogger's videos, making it a crime to produce, store or share the labeled material, as a former correspondent was jailed the same week.{c:695}{c:696}{c:697}{c:698}",
  "what_happened": "On March 3, 2022, a Minsk district court sentenced Aleh Hruzdzilovich, a former correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, to a year and a half in prison over his participation in three protests in 2020. Days later, on March 9, 2022, Minsk's Central District Court declared all information products of Deutsche Welle, Germany's public broadcaster, to be extremist material, effectively banning the outlet inside Belarus. The same order labeled the independent newspaper Regionalnaya Gazeta and videos by Russian blogger Yuriy Dud extremist as well, bringing the total number of outlets Belarus had designated extremist to 20. Under Belarusian law, anyone convicted of producing, storing or sharing material labeled extremist can be fined up to 960 rubles or detained for up to 15 days; Belarus's information ministry separately warned that even subscribing to a labeled outlet's Telegram channel could lead to prosecution.{c:695}{c:696}{c:697}{c:698}\n\nSustained as of the source reviewed.{c:695}{c:696}{c:697}{c:698}",
  "stated_justification": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.{c:695}{c:696}{c:697}{c:698}",
  "effect_on_reporting": "The designation made it a punishable offense inside Belarus to read, store or share Deutsche Welle's reporting, cutting off a foreign broadcaster's audience by criminalizing the audience's own conduct rather than the broadcaster's.{c:696}{c:697}",
  "unknowns": "The sources reviewed do not report whether the designation was later narrowed or lifted.",
  "status": "in_effect",
  "status_updated_on": "2026-09-22",
  "external_ids": {},
  "illustration_key": null,
  "pub_state": "published",
  "published_at": "2026-09-23T01:37:07Z",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22",
  "next_review_on": "2026-12-22",
  "revision": 5,
  "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:36:27Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-23T02:23:21Z",
  "stage": "pressure",
  "ladder_note": "Belarus banned a foreign broadcaster's entire output as extremist material, making it a crime to read or share it, and jailed a former correspondent the same week; no United States \"fake news\" label makes sharing an outlet's work a crime.",
  "country_name": "Belarus",
  "tactics": [
    "disinformation_labeling"
  ],
  "leader": {
    "slug": "alexander-lukashenko",
    "name": "Alexander Lukashenko",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/alexander-lukashenko"
  },
  "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-belarus-labels-dw-extremist",
  "page_meta": {
    "published": "2026-09-23T01:37:07Z",
    "reviewed": "2026-09-22",
    "sources": 2,
    "status": "in_effect",
    "statusAsOf": "2026-09-22",
    "unknowns": "The sources reviewed do not report whether the designation was later narrowed or lifted."
  },
  "actors": [
    {
      "slug": "alexander-lukashenko",
      "name": "Alexander Lukashenko",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/alexander-lukashenko"
    },
    {
      "slug": "minsk-central-district-court",
      "name": "Central District Court, Minsk",
      "kind": "body",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/minsk-central-district-court"
    }
  ],
  "outlets": [
    {
      "slug": "deutsche-welle",
      "name": "Deutsche Welle",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/deutsche-welle"
    },
    {
      "slug": "regionalnaya-gazeta",
      "name": "Regionalnaya Gazeta",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/regionalnaya-gazeta"
    }
  ],
  "journalists": [
    {
      "slug": "aleh-hruzdzilovich",
      "name": "Aleh Hruzdzilovich",
      "outlet": "radio-free-europe-radio-liberty",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/aleh-hruzdzilovich"
    }
  ],
  "cases": [],
  "related": [],
  "events": [],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": 695,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 191,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "Court declares all DW content extremist",
      "statement": "The scope of the March 9, 2022 order against Deutsche Welle.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 400,
      "evidence_quote": "On Wednesday, March 9, the Central District Court in Minsk declared all \"information products\" by DW extremist, effectively banning the broadcaster in the country",
      "evidence_date": "2022-03-11",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:37:03Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 400,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2022/03/belarus-authorities-sentence-journalist-aleh-hruzdzilovich-to-prison-label-more-media-extremist/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2022/03/belarus-authorities-sentence-journalist-aleh-hruzdzilovich-to-prison-label-more-media-extremist/",
        "title": "Belarus authorities sentence journalist Aleh Hruzdzilovich to prison, label more media 'extremist'",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2022-03-11",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/695"
    },
    {
      "id": 696,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 191,
      "field": "effect_on_reporting",
      "value": "Sharing labeled material can bring a fine or 15 days detention",
      "statement": "The penalty for producing, storing or sharing extremist-labeled material.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 400,
      "evidence_quote": "Anyone convicted of producing, storing, or spreading materials designated extremist can be fined up to 960 rubles (US$290) or detained for up to 15 days,",
      "evidence_date": "2022-03-11",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:37:04Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 400,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2022/03/belarus-authorities-sentence-journalist-aleh-hruzdzilovich-to-prison-label-more-media-extremist/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2022/03/belarus-authorities-sentence-journalist-aleh-hruzdzilovich-to-prison-label-more-media-extremist/",
        "title": "Belarus authorities sentence journalist Aleh Hruzdzilovich to prison, label more media 'extremist'",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2022-03-11",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/696"
    },
    {
      "id": 697,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 191,
      "field": "effect_on_reporting",
      "value": "Even subscribing to a labeled Telegram channel risks prosecution",
      "statement": "Warning issued alongside the designation.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 400,
      "evidence_quote": "The MDCOCC announcement about DW warned of prosecution even for subscribing to Telegram channels and chats of outlets designated as extremist.",
      "evidence_date": "2022-03-11",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:37:04Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 400,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2022/03/belarus-authorities-sentence-journalist-aleh-hruzdzilovich-to-prison-label-more-media-extremist/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2022/03/belarus-authorities-sentence-journalist-aleh-hruzdzilovich-to-prison-label-more-media-extremist/",
        "title": "Belarus authorities sentence journalist Aleh Hruzdzilovich to prison, label more media 'extremist'",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2022-03-11",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/697"
    },
    {
      "id": 698,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 191,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "Designation brings the total to 20 outlets",
      "statement": "Scale of Belarus's use of the extremist label against media by this point.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 400,
      "evidence_quote": "The designations of DW and Regionalnaya Gazeta as extremist takes the number of media outlets labelled as such to 20,",
      "evidence_date": "2022-03-11",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:37:05Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 400,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2022/03/belarus-authorities-sentence-journalist-aleh-hruzdzilovich-to-prison-label-more-media-extremist/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2022/03/belarus-authorities-sentence-journalist-aleh-hruzdzilovich-to-prison-label-more-media-extremist/",
        "title": "Belarus authorities sentence journalist Aleh Hruzdzilovich to prison, label more media 'extremist'",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2022-03-11",
        "link_state": "live",
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        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/698"
    },
    {
      "id": 728,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 191,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "Belarus classifies all DW content extremist",
      "statement": "A media-freedom news aggregator reported that Belarus had classified all Deutsche Welle content as \"extremist.\"",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 487,
      "evidence_quote": "Belarus has classified all Deutsche Welle content as 'extremist.'",
      "evidence_date": "2022-03-10",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v3-second-sources-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T02:23:20Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 487,
        "url": "https://dokmz.com/2022/03/10/belarus-classifies-deutsche-welle-as-extremist/",
        "final_url": "https://dokmz.com/2022/03/10/belarus-classifies-deutsche-welle-as-extremist/",
        "title": "Belarus classifies Deutsche Welle as 'extremist'",
        "publisher": "dokmz (media-freedom news aggregator)",
        "published_on": "2022-03-10",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-23T02:35:35Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
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      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/728"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": 400,
      "url": "https://cpj.org/2022/03/belarus-authorities-sentence-journalist-aleh-hruzdzilovich-to-prison-label-more-media-extremist/",
      "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2022/03/belarus-authorities-sentence-journalist-aleh-hruzdzilovich-to-prison-label-more-media-extremist/",
      "title": "Belarus authorities sentence journalist Aleh Hruzdzilovich to prison, label more media 'extremist'",
      "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
      "published_on": "2022-03-11",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
      "wayback_url": null,
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    },
    {
      "id": 487,
      "url": "https://dokmz.com/2022/03/10/belarus-classifies-deutsche-welle-as-extremist/",
      "final_url": "https://dokmz.com/2022/03/10/belarus-classifies-deutsche-welle-as-extremist/",
      "title": "Belarus classifies Deutsche Welle as 'extremist'",
      "publisher": "dokmz (media-freedom news aggregator)",
      "published_on": "2022-03-10",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-23T02:35:35Z",
      "wayback_url": null,
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  ],
  "revisions_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-belarus-labels-dw-extremist/revisions",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  },
  "cite_as": "Belarus: Deutsche Welle and other outlets labeled 'extremist'. The War On News, thewaronnews.com. https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-belarus-labels-dw-extremist. Retrieved 2026-09-23."
}