According to reports from Meduza, which cited TASS, the Russian telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor has launched an investigation into the language learning application Duolingo. The probe is centered around allegations that Duolingo is disseminating information that promotes the LGBT community.
The move was prompted by a public group named “Guardians” who contacted Roskomnadzor the previous day. They demanded that the agency investigate the application following complaints received from several parents. The group claims that there is hidden LGBT propaganda within the tasks presented to users. An example of this, they claim, is a task where users are asked to repeat the sentence “Clara met her wife Maria in a lesbian bar.” Another instance is a fill-in-the-blank task with the sentence “Peter and Max are married,” where the missing word implies a same-sex relationship.
In light of these allegations, “Guardians” has called for a nationwide block on the Duolingo app in Russia. However, Roskomnadzor has reported that they have not yet received a formal request to this effect.
