Google employees in Russia banned from calling the invasion of Ukraine a war: all because of Kremlin censorship

Google followed Russia's lead and issued a decree not to call the war in Ukraine a "war". All services that are still working in the Russian Federation do not use this wording. Writes about it The Intercept.

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In early March, contractors working at Google to translate the company's text for the Russian market received a message: “Effective immediately. Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine can no longer be called a war, but only vaguely referred to as "extraordinary circumstances."

The email was sent by the management of a firm that translates corporate texts and application interfaces for Google and other clients.

The email conveyed instructions from Google with new wording. The instructions also noted that the word "war" should continue to be used in other markets and that the policy change was intended to ensure that Google complies with Russian censorship law enacted immediately after the invasion of Ukraine.

Google spokesman Alex Krasov said: “While we have suspended Google advertising and the vast majority of our business activities in Russia, we remain focused on the safety of our local employees. It has been widely reported that current laws restrict communication within Russia.”

According to him, the decrees apply to all Google products translated into Russian, including Google Maps, Gmail, AdWords, as well as communication with users.

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An internal memorandum helps explain why some of Google's webpages, including advertising policies, use euphemistic terms such as "Ukraine emergency" in their Russian version and "war in Ukraine" in their English version.

The censorship law, signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 4, provides for harsh criminal penalties of up to 15 years in prison for spreading so-called false information about the Russian military.

The Kremlin is calling the war a "special military operation" and its internet censorship board has reportedly threatened to block websites that use terms like "invasion."

Like many other American companies, Google declared its support for Ukraine and opposition to the Russian invasion immediately after the attack began. And, like some of the other Silicon Valley titans, he also implemented new policies to stifle the Kremlin's ability to propagate.

In a company blog post on March 1, Google's head of global communications, Kent Walker, said: "Our teams are working around the clock to support people in Ukraine with our products, defend against cybersecurity threats, and deliver high-quality, trusted information."

Walker added that Google has "suspended the vast majority of our business activities in Russia," including the sale of ads directed to Russian YouTube viewers, Google Cloud registrations in Russia, and "payment features for most services."

Western commentators have generally praised Google's intrusion efforts. In an English-language version of Google's advertising policy update note titled "Sensitive Events Policy Updates" dated February 27, 2022, the company explained that it was blocking online advertising in Russian state-owned media due to the "current war in Ukraine, which is considered "sensitive". event." But the Russian version of the post refers only to the "emergency in Ukraine" and not to the "war."

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In the Video Help Center, the "Restricted Products and Services" post echoes the warning: "Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we are temporarily suspending Google ads for users located in Russia." In the Russian version, the warning has been changed again: "Due to the emergency situation in Ukraine, we are temporarily suspending ad serving to users located in Russia."

In some cases, Russian man pages contain both a reference to "war" and a state-sanctioned euphemism; inexplicably.

Perhaps the automatic translation system is to blame. According to the translator, most translations are done automatically by the software. In more sensitive cases - community rules and support pages - human control is usually used to ensure accuracy.

Any potential use of the term "war" in the context of Ukraine will be censored in all Google products still available on the Russian market. They also said that the euphemism policy would hypothetically apply in addition to support page text to other Google products such as Maps.

The move is just the latest example of Google and its core Silicon Valley counterparts acquiescing to Russian censorship demands. In 2019, Apple agreed to recognize the Russian annexation of Crimea in its iOS Maps app in response to pressure from the Kremlin. In 2021, Google reported that it had complied with 75% of content takedown requests it received from the Russian government that year; that same year, both Google and Apple agreed to remove apps associated with prominent Putin critic Alexei Navalny.

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