Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Blue Label Telecoms to change its name as restructuring gathers pace

      11 July 2025

      Get your ID delivered like pizza – home affairs’ latest digital shake-up

      11 July 2025

      EFF vows to stop Starlink from launching in South Africa

      11 July 2025

      Apple plans product blitz to reignite growth

      11 July 2025

      Nissan doubles down on South Africa despite plant uncertainty

      11 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025

      Grammarly acquires e-mail start-up Superhuman

      1 July 2025

      Apple considers ditching its own AI in Siri overhaul

      1 July 2025
    • In-depth

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on the latest and greatest cloud technologies

      27 June 2025
    • Opinion

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Broadcasting and Media » EFF blasts MultiChoice over RT channel removal

    EFF blasts MultiChoice over RT channel removal

    By Duncan McLeod3 March 2022
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    An illuminated sign at the RT studios in Moscow. Credit: Benoît Prieur – CC-BY-SA

    The Economic Freedom Fighters has slammed MultiChoice Group over what it has inaccurately claimed is the broadcaster’s “unilateral decision” to remove state-owned Russian news channel RT from DStv.

    In fact, MultiChoice had already told TechCentral on Tuesday that it had no intention of removing the channel. When RT disappeared from its DStv bouquets on Wednesday, the broadcaster explained that the matter was not its decision and that the matter was out of its hands.

    In response to a query from TechCentral soon after the channel went off the air, the company confirmed RT was pulled from its platform and would “not be carried on the DStv platform until further notice”. This was because “sanctions imposed on Russia have led to the global distributor of the channel ceasing to provide the broadcast feed to all suppliers, including MultiChoice”.

    The censoring of Russia Today is nothing but an attempt to shut down a contending narrative

    MultiChoice relies on satellite backhaul links to receive its programming. It also distributes its channels to viewers using an Intelsat satellite. Intelsat is headquartered in Luxembourg, which is a member state of the EU.

    This didn’t stop the EFF from launching an inaccurate and inflammatory attack on the JSE-listed broadcaster. It said in a statement that the move “undermines both press freedom and the rights of consumers who pay for the DStv service. MultiChoice has chosen which news outlets consumers watch and dictated what content must be watched based on their allegiance in a complex conflict in Europe”, the radical-left party said.

    “This is a classic move by imperialist-aligned entities who want to monopolise what people think and be the sole custodians of a narrative that requires balanced and fair reporting. MultiChoice has basically declared that the only reliable international news outlets are those aligned with Nato, such as CNN and the BBC,” the EFF claimed.

    The party did not mention in its statement that DStv also carries Al Jazeera, which is headquartered in Qata, China’s CGTN, which is owned by the Chinese state, and India’s NDTV.

    ‘Parastic’

    The EFF said that when the US began its “parasitic infiltration of the Middle East to secure oil reserves, under the pretense of fighting terrorism, CNN, Fox News and the BCC remained on our television screens”.

    “The censoring of Russia Today is nothing but an attempt to shut down a contending narrative to news outlets that have been complicit in genocide in the developing world. We demand the immediate reinstatement of Russia Today, and not this condescending move which seeks to force-feed a one-sided narrative on the conflict between Ukraine, Russia and nations which belong to the hypocritical Nato.

    “South African citizens must be allowed to make an informed view on the conflict in Europe, and not be fed narrow propaganda by networks who have a history of packaging imperialist expansion as ‘peace-keeping’ efforts,” the EFF said.  – © 2022 NewsCentral Media



    DStv Intelsat MultiChoice RT Russia Today
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleWhy your company should consider outsourcing the CTO role
    Next Article Apple to host event next week: new iPhone SE, Mac mini expected

    Related Posts

    MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

    10 July 2025

    Icasa publishes new draft regulations for digital TV

    8 July 2025

    MultiChoice hit with multimillion-rand fine for privacy ‘breaches’

    8 July 2025
    Company News

    $125-trillion traded: Binance redefines global finance in just eight years

    11 July 2025

    NEC XON welcomes HPE acquisition of Juniper Networks

    11 July 2025

    LTE Cat 1 vs Cat 1 bis – what’s the difference?

    11 July 2025
    Opinion

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.