On 25 September 2025, a court in Ufa fined the publisher of local media outlet Prufy 2 million rubles on charges of “abusing media freedom.” The case concerned a social media post published by Prufy in January 2025 about a reported drone attack on the premises of a local industrial plant.
Authorities claimed the post constituted “false information” about the incident. Following a warning from officials, Prufy deleted the publication from their social media page, but the outlet was nevertheless prosecuted and fined.
In its Telegram channel, Prufy explained that the deleted post reflected information circulating among local residents “which was not later confirmed”. The court ruling reflected a broader trend in Russia of using “abuse of media freedom” provisions to penalize independent media for reporting on sensitive or security-related topics.