In an incredible act of bravery on Monday, a Russian woman rushed the stage of a Russian news channel and held up a sign emblazoned with “They’re lying to you here”. She yelled “Stop the war!” attempting to stop Russian fake news. Norma Rae would be proud.

“A state television employee burst onto the live broadcast of Russia’s most-watched news show…in an extraordinary act of protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

In an act of sheer guts and bravery, Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at the Kremlin-run Channel 1, made her move while a talking head “was describing Russian talks with Belarus over how to soften the blow from Western sanctions.”

A woman rushed onto a Russian state-run Channel One broadcast tonight with an anti-war sign.

“Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you,” it reads. pic.twitter.com/9jdlbcH8Ri

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) March 14, 2022

Good news folks, the sanctions seem to be getting under Putin’s skin. We’ve got that going for us. Meanwhile, in a few moments the feed broke away.

Actual truth as to what happened afterward is sketchy. Truth is not Russia’s strong suit.

We know this. Ms. Ovsyannikova’s employer was not happy.

“Ovsyannikova was detained after the protest and was being held at the television station, according to OVD-Info, an activist group that supports Russians detained for protesting.”

We also know—the scant word that escapes Russia through banned Twitter channels indicate she has been arrested.

Marina Ovsyannikova, editor at Channel One’s city news department,a mother of two children, just ran onto the stage during a Russian state television news broadcast with a sign that said, “Stop the war! Don’t believe propaganda! They’re lying to you here!”

She has been arrested pic.twitter.com/u4rttFtQwV

— Mikhail Khodorkovsky (English) (@mbk_center) March 14, 2022

Subsequent reports are not promising that she will be heard from anytime soon.

Defense attorneys have reportedly given up the search for Marina Ovsyannikova and gone home for the night. They’ll keep looking for her in the morning. (It’s 3:30am in Moscow now.) https://t.co/HTkpTNumsh

— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) March 15, 2022

Marina’s gutsy move was premeditated. In a video she released via activist channels, she made it clear she knew what she was doing. She speaks eloquently against Russia’s war on Ukraine, puts full blame on Putin, her shame for knowingly putting out actual fake Russian news, and calls on her fellow Russians to protest.

“They cannot put us all in jail,” she says bravely as she calls for mass protests of Russians citizens.

Sadly, conditions in Russian jails and prisons are horrific.

Former Russian prisoners describe unthinkable and brutal stories.

“The psyche of a person collapses when they’re in jail for half a year, a year or two years – and they don’t speak to anyone.”

Here’s hoping Marina Ovsyannikova’s release is soon and her outburst will keep the world’s attention on her incarceration. Here’s hoping her call for mass protest achieves what she described.

Watching the bravery of such a brave woman is heartwarming. However it is absolutely aggravating as an American citizen watching such bravery knowing we have our own Kremlin-style propaganda and media cover-up machine. The three years of watching our media spin, writhe, and circle their wagons around President Trump over a fake Russian collusion story only to find out it was a bloody lie. It’s a lie that continues as the same media refuses to report on the depth of the lies.

“The New York Times has a problem with Russia. And the truth. For more than three years, the Times pushed the false Trump-Russia collusion story, making the paper an accessory to what amounted to an attempted coup against the 45th president…the Times… won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for writing on ‘Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign.’”

It positively maddening to watch actual lies being sold and told as truth–Marina can relate–to watch fellow citizens ingest it and live their lives according to those lies.

If only corporate media in America had half the passion Marina Ovsyannikova did on Monday. It will never happen. Our media is just as complicit in lying as the Kremlin’s Channel 1.

Feature Photo: Stand with Ukraine against Russian Invasion – Vancouver Anti-War Rally, Feb 26th, 2022 by GoToVan, via Flickr, license CC by 2.0, cropped.