According to the news of The Guardian, the BBC started broadcasting news bulletins over shortwave radio in the country after Russia blocked access to BBC websites. The BBC also announced that it was bringing back World War II-era broadcast technology in the region, hours before their site was banned. The news of the ban was also reported by the Russian state news agency RIA.
Shortwave radio uses frequencies that are carried over long distances. The BBC announced that shortwave broadcasts will be available on frequencies 15735 kHz between 16:00 and 18:00 Ukrainian time and 5875 kHz between 22:00 and midnight. The news will be read in English and will be available in Kiev and “parts of Russia”, the BBC said.
Shortwave radio has a long history of wartime broadcasting. The Guardian reports that its use peaked during the Cold War, but was also used throughout the Second World War to broadcast propaganda. The BBC World Service ended the use of technology in Europe in 2008, 76 years later.
Russian state-owned news agency RIA, BBC News as well as Radio Liberty, US state radio broadcaster Voice of America, Meduza (English news website based in Russia and Latvia) and some publishers, such as the German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
The BBC previously reported that its Russian-speaking audience has seen a huge increase since the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Direct traffic to the Russian site was more than triple its normal levels last week (10.7 million visits versus 3.1 million on average), while visitors to English content in Russia rose 252 percent last week. Visits within the scope of the Ukrainian language also more than doubled.
“In a conflict where disinformation and propaganda are rampant, there is a clear need for fact-based and independent news that people can trust. We will continue to allow the Russian people access to the truth whenever we can.”
Davie also said, “Our BBC News service in Russian will continue to operate from outside Russia.”
The BBC’s access is restricted within Russia, while Russian state-sponsored media outlets RT and Sputnik are targeted by tech platforms and regulators abroad.
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