How YouTube Keeps Broadcasting Inside Russia’s Digital Iron Curtain

Months into its war against Ukraine, Moscow continues to let its own citizens access YouTube, leaving a conspicuous hole in its effort to control what Russians see and hear about the conflict.

The video-streaming service, owned by Alphabet Google, is one of the few places where Russians can view and discuss images of the war from independent outlets. Russia has restricted domestic access to many other big platforms—including news sites and Facebook—since the conflict began.