Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US government has increased funding for three technology companies to allow Russians to circumvent Kremlin censorship and gain access to Western media. This was reported by Reuters by five people familiar with the situation,
KYIV. UkraineGate , 16 , June , 2022 | Society.
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According to the interlocutors of the agency, the United States finances three companies that create virtual private networks (VPN) – nthLink, Psiphon and Lantern. These companies and two officials of the US government-funded non-profit organization Open Technology Fund (OTF) claim that after February 24 in Russia the demand for VPN programs has increased.
Between 2015 and 2021, the three companies received at least $ 4.8 million, according to publicly available financial documents, writes Reuters. Since February 2022, the total amount of funding allocated to companies has almost doubled, sources say.
Funding comes from the US Global Media Agency (USAGM), which oversees US-supported broadcasters, including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.
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“In the wake of the Kremlin’s escalating media freedom, we are seeing an extraordinary surge in demand for these tools among Russians,” said USAGM spokeswoman Lori Moi.
According to her, last month more than 4 million users from Russia used VPN programs supported by the government.
Source: Ukrgate