Tag: Ukraine Russia conflict

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SaskTel donates funds and services for Ukrainians settling in Saskatchewan

SaskTel is donating $50,000 to the Canadian Congress of Saskatchewan (UCC).

The Saskatchewan-based telecommunication provider said the one-time donation will go towards supporting Ukrainian refugees coming to the province. Residents have been fleeing the country following Russia’s invasion. The war started in February and continues today.

“At SaskTel, we recognize how fortunate we all are to live and work in our wonderful province, and we are pleased to provide this donation to the UCC as they tirelessly work to ensure Ukrainians coming to Saskatchewan have what they need to acclimatize to life away from their home,” Doug Burnett, SaskTel’s CEO, said.

The company will also offer Ukrainians settling in the province free prepaid wireless services. MobileSyrup will share more details when they’re made available.

This is SaskTel’s latest action to assist Ukrainians fleeing the war. In February, the company announced it would waive fees for customers contacting loved ones in Ukraine. The offer, renewed in March, is set to expire on June 30th.

Image credit: SaskTel

Source: Sasktel

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Mobile Syrup

Elon Musk wants to go up against Vladimir Putin in ‘single combat’

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to a “single combat,” and the stakes are Ukraine. That’s enough internet for today.

Musk announced the banter challenge via his Twitter, and even tagged the Kremlin’s official English account. However, Putin is unlikely to see the Tweet since he’s banned the platform in Russia.

Musk, 50, has some experience in Karate, Taekwondo, Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but isn’t likely a match for Putin. The 69-year-old is a 9th Dan black belt in Taekwondo (or at least, he was until recently when the honorary title was revoked) and a former lieutenant colonel at KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti).

It has become evident that Musk condemns the illegal invasion of Ukraine by the hands of Russia. He recently sent over several Starlink terminals to help keep the country stay connected to the rest of the world and has been vocal about the conflict on his Twitter.

Image credit: Vocativ, Shutterstock

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Mobile Syrup

Google pauses ad sales in Russia

Kitchener, Ontario, Canada – September 30, 2019: Google sign in the Google Canada Kitchener-Waterloo office.

Google has put its ad sales in Russia on hold as its war on Ukraine continues.

A Google spokesperson told The Verge, “the situation is evolving quickly,” and it will provide more information “when appropriate.”

The company did not provide details on potential financial losses. Google also blocked RT, an English-language news channel funded by the state government, from earning ad dollars on its associated websites.

Google was previously criticized by Roskomnadzor, a Russian agency responsible for monitoring media, for displaying ads about the conflict, a report from The Wall Street Journal states. The agency said the ads were “false political information” about Ukraine.

The move comes after several tech companies pulled their services from Russia. Microsoft and Apple paused sales in Russia, and Netflix halted future projects connected to the country.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Links to Russian state-owned media now unconditionally banned on Reddit

Reddit is going one step further in its effort to curb misinformation and propaganda relating to the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

The San Francisco-based discussion website announced today that it has banned users from posting links to any Russian state-supported media outlets. The rule doesn’t apply to a specific subreddit and instead covers the whole website, and applies to all users globally.

Links to the state-run television network RT and Sputnik were recently banned by several subreddit mods to safeguard their communities; however, today’s change implies that the rule now encompasses all of Reddit.

In its announcement post, Reddit also clearly stated that it will not allow any advertisements that “target Russia or originate from any Russia-based entity, government or private” on its platform.

This comes soon after Reddit “quarantined” (shadowbanned) the r/Russia and r/RussiaPolitics subreddits because of misinformation arising from them. As of right now, visiting the quarantined subreddit shows a message, stating “This Community contains a high volume of information not supported by credible sources,” as seen in the screenshot below:

While other social media platforms have also taken strict measures against Russian state-run broadcasting, like YouTube blocking RT from earning ad revenue, or Meta blocking Sputnik in EU and Ukraine, Reddit’s move today formally abolishes the presence of said media from its platform globally.

“This is a live situation, and our response is evolving every day as we gain new information. The measures above are not a complete or final list of what we’re doing, but we hope it provides some insight into our efforts right now,” reads the company’s blog post. “Reddit, at its core, is about community, and we will continue to do whatever we can to ensure that our platform remains available for people to connect, support each other, access reliable information, and express their authentic opinions and feelings during this difficult time.”

Image credit: Reddit

Source: Reddit