‘They’re Lying to You.’ Russian State TV Employee Arrested After Interrupting Live Broadcast With Anti-War Sign

It was a jaw-dropping moment when for a few seconds a young woman interrupted a live news broadcast on Russian state media to wave a sign that said: “Stop the war. Don’t believe propaganda. They’re lying to you.”

The most striking aspect of the case is how far Vladimir Putin went to stop Russians from accessing independent social media information, such as Facebook and Twitter.

In a sober black suit and blond hair, the woman could only take a second to get her points across behind a TelePrompter-like anchor. First Channel cut quickly to a scene that was essentially the same as in a hospital.

Tass reported that the protester was detained by Russian police. OVD Info, a group that provides legal defense, has identified the protester as being an employee of First Channel.

Tass cited an anonymous law-enforcement source saying she could be charged with an administrative violation for “discrediting” Russia’s armed forces.

First Channel is Kremlin-backed and one of the primary tools of Putin’s messaging campaign to rewrite the narrative of the war for more than 140 million Russians.