6 ms·

Is RT.com being censored in the West?

19 points by a0-prw 5y ago

I cannot access rt.com from Firefox or Brave browsers. The site isitdownrightnow.com says it's down for everyone but I can access it with tor browser. What's up ?

dwt204 5y ago
Not available in my sector, using VPN, get a captcha that does not respond. Tor not responding either.
apple314159 5y ago
It's accessible from Panama using Firefox.
xeddit 5y ago
Seems to load fine from my UK home connection, but not through my Ireland VPN.
Normille 5y ago
I suspect they're being DDOSed. I couldn't access it this morning, without completing a captcha... which I refuse to do, on principle. EDIT UPDATE: I just tried again. The first couple of times Firefox refused to load the page with an error about 'unexpected end of file' [Sorry. I didn't note the exact term, as I thought a reload would fix it] Then I tried a third time and, now, the page doesn't load at all. Definitely omething untoward going on.
- sinyug 5y ago
  > I suspect they're being DDOSed. Very likely. I am in India and it goes offline intermittently.
- ASalazarMX 5y ago
  Visiting rt.com will make the browser warn about an unsafe self-signed certificate emitted by ddos-guard. I think the latter's website is ddos-guard.net, which welcomes me with a captcha and this message, which is kind of cute: > We have registered suspicious traffic coming from your network. Using this page, we will be able to determine that you are not the robot. What if I am, in fact, The Robot?
trevcanhuman 5y ago
Maybe it’s your ISP ? From a Mexico I can access it just fine.
AutoDisorder 5y ago
I was able to get to rt.com when using an american vpn. I had to reload 3 times and fill a captcha though. english.pravda.ru is working though.
T3RMINATED 5y ago
jb510 5y ago
Anonymous has been ddos’ing it. https://twitter.com/youranonnews/status/1496969715826278407?s=21 https://twitter.com/youranonnews/status/1496969715826278407?...
- capableweb 5y ago
  That's so idiotic. The only thing they are DDOSing is a public facing website where people can read what Russian-sponsored media is saying about the events. It's not like RTs internal infrastructure runs on the same as the public-facing one. Why not try to attack their internal infrastructure instead?
  - moralestapia 5y ago
    They are idiotic. Everything they do is just opportunistic, they've never provided anything of value. (Anonymous, not RT).
    - nest0r 5y ago
      Telecomix which came out of anonymous provided a massive amount landlines to keep communication channels up while governments in Syria and Egypt killed the internet. You can be the easy pedantic but if you have no idea about what you are talking just shut it.
    - jen20 5y ago
      The fact you had to clarify there tells you all you need to know about Russia Today, which is a scourge on the world.
      - moralestapia 5y ago
        Nah, I clarified because I felt my comment was ambiguous and didn't want someone to turn it against RT (which you kind of did anyway). I actually enjoy RT, as they make some interesting documentaries, https://www.youtube.com/c/RTDocumentaryChannel/videos https://www.youtube.com/c/RTDocumentaryChannel/videos
Xorakios 5y ago
I am intermittingly able to access through Tor on Brave, and the home page of RT.com includes a headline that "Anonymous declares cyber war on RT"
crate_barre 5y ago
Anyone that can access, could you summarize their spin on all of this?
- mvladic 5y ago
  You can watch live stream here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkHcrYqrrQ4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkHcrYqrrQ4
christophilus 5y ago
They're being DDOSed. See this comment[0]. You can be part of the DDOS, if you want. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30465912 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30465912
- causi 5y ago
  Isn't DDOSing illegal? I'd rather not get my account with my ISP terminated.
  - mavhc 5y ago
    You're not DDoSing, you're just trying to load that site that keeps failing to load over and over again
  - miohtama 5y ago
    Invading a country and killing its people is more illegal. In a war, laws are thrown out of a window and then it is up to everyone’s own moral compass to do what they feel is right. Naturally different people have different opinions and any kind of activisim comes with a risk, like a slap on the wrist in the case of a keyboard warrior. But I am quite sure ISPs, especially European ones, have tolerance for activism.
    - sgjohnson 5y ago
      > But I am quite sure ISPs, especially European ones, have tolerance for activism. Only if it’s the right kind of activism.
    - beeboop 5y ago
      Every ISP I've had in the US specifically says their services can't be used for DDOS
fredgrott 5y ago
Follow up question is RT youtube channel facing similar things?
- herbst 5y ago
  RT YouTube channels like the German one have been banned by YT some months ago.
kavalg 5y ago
SSL handshake fails if you are not going through TOR
herbst 5y ago
de.rt.com is working for me, RT.com seems down.
FpUser 5y ago
Must be particular ISPs. I just checked from Toronto, Canada and it loads instantly
MrYellowP 5y ago
Austrian here, using Drei. For rt.com I get a 404.
mytailorisrich 5y ago
I have RT News on TV here in the UK. Instead of banning them I think it's interesting to watch their reports on Ukraine, of course keeping in mind that all is war propaganda at this point. For instance their map of Ukraine now has the whole of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions excluded (along with Crimea, of course) although the current rebel-held areas that they have recognised are less than half of that. This may tell us something about one of their goals.
- dragonwriter 5y ago
  > For instance their map of Ukraine now has the whole of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions excluded (along with Crimea, of course) although the current rebel-held areas that they have recognised are less than half of that. Russia has recognized the full regions claimed by the breakaway “republics”, not the areas current held by the rebels, and (before announcing the general invasion) announced they were sending military forces to help “defend” that territory. So, that map doesn't provide any clue to their goals not already in the explicit statements of the Russian government.
  - mytailorisrich 5y ago
    It's not clear to me that Russia has recognised the full regions rather than the areas under rebel control when I read the following but maybe: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_the_Donetsk_People%27s_Republic_and_the_Luhansk_People%27s_Republic https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of...
ahaaqweo1 5y ago
BlinkenBlinken 5y ago
No, stil works.
thrush_united 5y ago
I'm in the UK, and suffering censorship of RT.COM by various western powers. Even using TOR (as I would in an oppressive dictatorship like the USA) is getting me nowhere. I have deleted BBC news from all of my TVs in response, since it is the propaganda channel for the UK government.
Edone 5y ago
Russia is doing the entire planet a favor by removing the CABAL from Ukraine. Yes, those who do not do much research believe Russia is attacking Ukraine for a very different reason. When the smoke clears Russia will be seen as a HERO. Many do not want to believe this. They are somewhat brainwashed by a lying media that is owned and controlled by the same CABAL. I have been researching this CABAL for more than 40 years. Most of the people of this planet have only recently began to 'see' that something is wrong with, not some, but almost all of those who sit at the top level of corporations. Like the CDC, Facebook, Twitter etc. There is a group taking a stand against the CABAL. Russia is part of that group. That does not mean that Russia is not guilty of crimes against its people and/or against humanity. It means that they are on the good side of this conflict.

19 points by a0-prw 5y ago

I cannot access rt.com from Firefox or Brave browsers. The site isitdownrightnow.com says it's down for everyone but I can access it with tor browser. What's up ?

dwt204 5y ago

Not available in my sector, using VPN, get a captcha that does not respond. Tor not responding either.

apple314159 5y ago

It's accessible from Panama using Firefox.

xeddit 5y ago

Seems to load fine from my UK home connection, but not through my Ireland VPN.

Normille 5y ago

I suspect they're being DDOSed. I couldn't access it this morning, without completing a captcha... which I refuse to do, on principle. EDIT UPDATE: I just tried again. The first couple of times Firefox refused to load the page with an error about 'unexpected end of file' [Sorry. I didn't note the exact term, as I thought a reload would fix it] Then I tried a third time and, now, the page doesn't load at all. Definitely omething untoward going on.

sinyug 5y ago
> I suspect they're being DDOSed. Very likely. I am in India and it goes offline intermittently.
ASalazarMX 5y ago
Visiting rt.com will make the browser warn about an unsafe self-signed certificate emitted by ddos-guard. I think the latter's website is ddos-guard.net, which welcomes me with a captcha and this message, which is kind of cute: > We have registered suspicious traffic coming from your network. Using this page, we will be able to determine that you are not the robot. What if I am, in fact, The Robot?

trevcanhuman 5y ago

Maybe it’s your ISP ? From a Mexico I can access it just fine.

AutoDisorder 5y ago

I was able to get to rt.com when using an american vpn. I had to reload 3 times and fill a captcha though. english.pravda.ru is working though.

T3RMINATED 5y ago

jb510 5y ago

Anonymous has been ddos’ing it. https://twitter.com/youranonnews/status/1496969715826278407?s=21 https://twitter.com/youranonnews/status/1496969715826278407?...

capableweb 5y ago
That's so idiotic. The only thing they are DDOSing is a public facing website where people can read what Russian-sponsored media is saying about the events. It's not like RTs internal infrastructure runs on the same as the public-facing one. Why not try to attack their internal infrastructure instead?
- moralestapia 5y ago
  They are idiotic. Everything they do is just opportunistic, they've never provided anything of value. (Anonymous, not RT).
  - nest0r 5y ago
    Telecomix which came out of anonymous provided a massive amount landlines to keep communication channels up while governments in Syria and Egypt killed the internet. You can be the easy pedantic but if you have no idea about what you are talking just shut it.
  - jen20 5y ago
    The fact you had to clarify there tells you all you need to know about Russia Today, which is a scourge on the world.
    - moralestapia 5y ago
      Nah, I clarified because I felt my comment was ambiguous and didn't want someone to turn it against RT (which you kind of did anyway). I actually enjoy RT, as they make some interesting documentaries, https://www.youtube.com/c/RTDocumentaryChannel/videos https://www.youtube.com/c/RTDocumentaryChannel/videos

Xorakios 5y ago

I am intermittingly able to access through Tor on Brave, and the home page of RT.com includes a headline that "Anonymous declares cyber war on RT"

crate_barre 5y ago

Anyone that can access, could you summarize their spin on all of this?

mvladic 5y ago
You can watch live stream here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkHcrYqrrQ4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkHcrYqrrQ4

christophilus 5y ago

They're being DDOSed. See this comment[0]. You can be part of the DDOS, if you want. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30465912 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30465912

causi 5y ago
Isn't DDOSing illegal? I'd rather not get my account with my ISP terminated.
- mavhc 5y ago
  You're not DDoSing, you're just trying to load that site that keeps failing to load over and over again
- miohtama 5y ago
  Invading a country and killing its people is more illegal. In a war, laws are thrown out of a window and then it is up to everyone’s own moral compass to do what they feel is right. Naturally different people have different opinions and any kind of activisim comes with a risk, like a slap on the wrist in the case of a keyboard warrior. But I am quite sure ISPs, especially European ones, have tolerance for activism.
  - sgjohnson 5y ago
    > But I am quite sure ISPs, especially European ones, have tolerance for activism. Only if it’s the right kind of activism.
  - beeboop 5y ago
    Every ISP I've had in the US specifically says their services can't be used for DDOS

fredgrott 5y ago

Follow up question is RT youtube channel facing similar things?

herbst 5y ago
RT YouTube channels like the German one have been banned by YT some months ago.

kavalg 5y ago

SSL handshake fails if you are not going through TOR

herbst 5y ago

de.rt.com is working for me, RT.com seems down.

FpUser 5y ago

Must be particular ISPs. I just checked from Toronto, Canada and it loads instantly

MrYellowP 5y ago

Austrian here, using Drei. For rt.com I get a 404.

mytailorisrich 5y ago

I have RT News on TV here in the UK. Instead of banning them I think it's interesting to watch their reports on Ukraine, of course keeping in mind that all is war propaganda at this point. For instance their map of Ukraine now has the whole of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions excluded (along with Crimea, of course) although the current rebel-held areas that they have recognised are less than half of that. This may tell us something about one of their goals.

dragonwriter 5y ago
> For instance their map of Ukraine now has the whole of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions excluded (along with Crimea, of course) although the current rebel-held areas that they have recognised are less than half of that. Russia has recognized the full regions claimed by the breakaway “republics”, not the areas current held by the rebels, and (before announcing the general invasion) announced they were sending military forces to help “defend” that territory. So, that map doesn't provide any clue to their goals not already in the explicit statements of the Russian government.
- mytailorisrich 5y ago
  It's not clear to me that Russia has recognised the full regions rather than the areas under rebel control when I read the following but maybe: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_the_Donetsk_People%27s_Republic_and_the_Luhansk_People%27s_Republic https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of...

ahaaqweo1 5y ago

BlinkenBlinken 5y ago

No, stil works.

thrush_united 5y ago

I'm in the UK, and suffering censorship of RT.COM by various western powers. Even using TOR (as I would in an oppressive dictatorship like the USA) is getting me nowhere. I have deleted BBC news from all of my TVs in response, since it is the propaganda channel for the UK government.

Edone 5y ago

Russia is doing the entire planet a favor by removing the CABAL from Ukraine. Yes, those who do not do much research believe Russia is attacking Ukraine for a very different reason. When the smoke clears Russia will be seen as a HERO. Many do not want to believe this. They are somewhat brainwashed by a lying media that is owned and controlled by the same CABAL. I have been researching this CABAL for more than 40 years. Most of the people of this planet have only recently began to 'see' that something is wrong with, not some, but almost all of those who sit at the top level of corporations. Like the CDC, Facebook, Twitter etc. There is a group taking a stand against the CABAL. Russia is part of that group. That does not mean that Russia is not guilty of crimes against its people and/or against humanity. It means that they are on the good side of this conflict.