Russian state TV employee interrupts live news broadcast with protest

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'Don't believe propaganda': Russian state TV employee interrupts live broadcast with protest

Marina Ovsyannikova, who works for Channel One, was arrested soon after.

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An employee of a state-owned Russian news channel interrupted a live broadcast to protest Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Waving a sign that said "Don't believe the propaganda" while shouting "stop the war", Marina Ovsyannikova interrupted the night broadcast of Channel One on Monday. The channel then switched its broadcast from the studio to recorded footage.

Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at a TV channel in Russia, interrupted a live broadcast with a sign that read “NO WAR. Stop the war. Don't believe the propaganda. They're lying to you here.” She has since been detained. This is an act of incredible courage. pic.twitter.com/BOJ70m2ztv
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 14, 2022

She was arrested soon after and taken to a police station.

According to the Guardian, Ovsyannikova is an editor at Channel One. She also released a pre-recorded video where she said, "Regrettably, for a number of years, I worked on Channel One and worked on Kremlin propaganda, I am very ashamed of this right now. Ashamed that I was allowed to tell lies from the television screen..."

Marina Ovsyannikova, the woman who ran onto a live state TV news broadcast, even recorded a message beforehand. In it, she says her father is Ukrainian. She calls for anti-war protests, says she’s ashamed about working for Kremlin propaganda, and she denounces the war absolutely. pic.twitter.com/nOpUY9bH74
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) March 14, 2022

The Guardian quoted her as urging other Russians to "go to the protests" as "only we have the power to stop all this madness".

According to Reuters, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Ovsyannikova in a video address, saying, "I am grateful to those Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth. To those who fight disinformation and tell the truth, real facts to their friends and loved ones. And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war."

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