With the 2026 Local Government Elections on the horizon, the Electoral Commission (IEC) has taken a significant step to protect the integrity of the vote by introducing the Electoral Code of Conduct on Countering Disinformation. This code is aimed squarely at political parties and candidates contesting the election, and it spells out clearly what they can and cannot do when it comes to spreading false or misleading information, whether online or offline. It applies from the moment it took effect all the way through until the results of the election are formally declared. To make this workable, the IEC has…

Imagine living in a place where the news you trust has been systematically silenced, where every television channel and website seems to repeat the same official distortions, and where simply seeking an independent perspective can feel like an act of defiance. This is the daily reality for millions of Russian speakers in Russia, Belarus, and the occupied territories of Ukraine. In 2024, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) launched the Svoboda satellite package as a direct response to this crisis, a bold and innovative tool designed to pierce the information blockade imposed by the Kremlin. The word “svoboda” means “freedom” in Russian,…