Misinformation was named by the World Economic Forum as the #1 global threat for 2024. In 2023 alone, Russia censored and blocked an estimated one million websites globally - … read moreincluding every independent news site and global social media platforms like X, Instagram, and Facebook. In response to this alarming trend, Undo the Firewall, a grassroots initiative between The True Story and Hello Monday/DEPT provides a straightforward solution, empowering website owners worldwide to host uncensored news stories and deliver the real stories. Creative studio Hello Monday/DEPT has a long track record of leveraging tech for good over the years. Now, they are tackling misinformation and internet censorship by joining forces with The True Story, a news aggregator founded by Lev Gershenzon, former news director of Russia's largest search engine Yandex. Currently, Russians can still freely visit foreign websites for gaming, information, e-commerce, etc. This allows website owners globally to actively contribute to the fight against censorship and misinformation. The process is simple - a website owner can copy and paste a small code snippet onto their sites, available at undothefirewall.com (which will only go live on Jan 30th). When a visitor with Russian language settings accesses the site, a pop-up displaying uncensored news stories automatically appears, providing unfiltered perspectives on current events. Undo the Firewall aims to puncture the information barrier imposed by a system that uses technology to stifle its people through censorship and centralisation of news and information. By giving any website owner the power to help undo the firewall and expose real news from every angle, this initiative seeks to empower everyone willing to participate.
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