Putin losing control of narrative in Russia?

 Fox News:

Developments this week indicate Russia is losing the information war at home, and President Vladimir Putin is not able to fully control the narrative surrounding his invasion of Ukraine.

Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer, told Fox News Digital that it might be a bit of a stretch to say that Russia is "clearly" losing the information war, but signs indicate there is definitely "trouble."

"A few days ago … the official Russian censorship agency came out with a warning to all media outlets that said ‘only trustworthy sources are allowed to be used when reporting on this special military operation, and if you don’t do that we will take you off-air,’" which led to the forced closure of two independent news networks, including Dozhd TV – known in English as Rain TV.

Tikhon Dzyadko, overnight chief editor of Dozhd, wrote on Telegram on Wednesday that he was fleeing the country over fear for his life, saying it was "obvious that the personal safety of some of us is now under threat."

The BBC also claimed Wednesday that "millions of Russians" have turned to the BBC in order to get "factual, independent information" about the war. BBC.com supposedly saw 10.7 million views on its Russian language news website – triple its year-to-date weekly average.

But Koffler added that Russia will "crack down further and possibly ban broadcasts by Western media if they haven’t already." The BBC announced Thursday it would establish shortwave radio service in Ukraine and Russia to circumvent such issues.

Alexis Mrachek, a research associate at the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy, argued that Putin certainly looks like he's "losing control."

"I honestly think it shows a little bit of both: I think it shows firstly he is in control but also, yes, he’s losing control," Mrachek told Fox News Digital. "In these videos being put out online of his different speeches, his demeanor is different, and his tone his more harsh – his messaging is becoming shriller and shriller."
...

  Protests broke out across Russia in every major city including in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Independent Russian watchdog group OVD-Info reported that authorities had arrested more than 8,000 people at these protests over the first week of the conflict. Celebrities and prominent figures in Russia have also trumpeted their opposition to the war.

Fox News correspondent Amy Kellogg reported that a Russian pollster announced it would delay publishing results on attitudes regarding the war until the "special operation" has finished, and Koffler agreed that would imply the picture within the country is that the invasion remains unpopular and the information war is not as effective.
...

The shriller tone from Putin suggests he knows the people are not behind his war.  The thousands of arrests are probably just a fraction of the dissatisfaction with the war.  The BBC audience also suggests that the Russian people do not accept Putin's propaganda apparatus. 



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