Tut.By

TUT.BY
Type of site
Internet portal
Available inRussian
OwnerTUT BY MEDIA LLC
Created byYury Zisser
URLhttp://tut.by/
CommercialYes
RegistrationFree
LaunchedOctober 5, 2000
Current statusInactive

Tut.By was an independent news, media and service internet portal, one of the five most popular websites in Belarus[1] in the Russian language, and the most popular news web portal in the country.[2][3] After its owning company was closed down by the Minsk Economic Court in June 2022, its successor Zerkalo.io (meaning Mirror) remains online as of September 2022.

TUT.BY was based in Minsk, Belarus.[4] In 2019, the website was read by 62.58% of all Belarusian Internet users[5] with monthly visits rating around 200 million.[6]

Tut.By published around 200 articles on domestic and foreign agenda daily, including original stories and video, analytics, special projects, and online broadcasts. Apart from the news section, Tut.By had numerous specialized sections (Auto, Lady, Finance, Afisha, Realty, Sport) and services like weather and exchange rates.[7] The editorial standard claimed to prioritize socially important topics on Belarus and world agenda[8] in compliance with Journalism ethics.[9]

Tut.by was registered as an online media service on January 21, 2019.[10]

On October 1, 2020, following coverage by Tut.By of the 2020 Belarusian protests, Tut.By had its media credentials revoked for three months by the Ministry of Information, citing a court order that found that Tut.By published "prohibited information". Tut.By stated that it intended to continue operating.[11] On July 8, the former Tut.By team launched a new service, Zerkalo.io, which was intended to continue the operations until the comeback of Tut.By became possible.[12] On August 13, 2021, Tut.By and Zerkalo.io and all their content were declared extremist by the Central District court of Minsk.[13] On February 24, 2022, it was blocked in Russia for its coverage of the Russo-Ukrainian war.[14] On June 14, 2022, TUT BY Media company that issued TUT.by was declared extremist by Minsk Economic Court. The court ordered to dissolve the company, prohibited all operations in Belarus and banned using its logos and symbols.[15]

In June 2023, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus designated Zerkalo as an extremist formation.[16]

  1. ^ Doroshevich & Sokolova 2016, p. 149.
  2. ^ "Инфографика дня: Беларуская интернет аудитория в первом полугодии 2020" [Belarus Web Audience in the first half of 2020] (in Russian). Information Policy. July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  3. ^ "Онлайн медиа в Беларуси, апрель 2019" [Belarus Online Media, April 2019] (in Russian). Information Policy. May 17, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Newsroom: В гостях у нового офиса портала TUT.BY" [Newsroom: New Office of Tut.by] (in Russian). Mediakritika. October 31, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Sustainable media: the key to independence". EU NEIGHBOURS east. April 27, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference bolshoi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Gradushko 2013, p. 17.
  8. ^ Gradushko 2019, p. 35.
  9. ^ "TUT.BY: между интересами бизнеса и аудитории" [Tut.by: Between Business and Audience] (in Russian). Mediakritika. July 25, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  10. ^ "Зарегистрировано новое сетевое издание" (in Russian). Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus. January 21, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  11. ^ "Belarus: Tut.by news site ban comes into force | DW | 01.10.2020". DW.COM.
  12. ^ ""Силовикам будет сложно поймать нас". Журналисты TUT.BY – о запуске нового медиа". GazetaBY.com (in Belarusian). July 10, 2021.
  13. ^ "Content of TUT.by and Zerkalo.io recognized 'extremist'".
  14. ^ "В России заблокировали Zerkalo.io. Решение приняла Генпрокуратура РФ в первый день российского вторжения". ZERKALO.IO (in Russian). March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  15. ^ "В Белоруссии признали "ТУТ БАЙ МЕДИА" экстремистской организацией" [TUT By Media Declared Extremist in Belarus] (in Russian). Fontanka. June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  16. ^ "Belarus: IPI denounces designation of Zerkalo as 'extremist formation'". International Press Institute. June 13, 2023.