cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/onion/p/1246854/russian-channel-blurs-out-rainbow-in-episode-of-spongebob-in-likely-move-against-lgbt-pr

The 2x2 channel has colored out the rainbow in the cartoon “SpongeBob SquarePants”

Viewers have noticed the single-color yellow rainbow displayed by the character.

After the Russian Supreme Court declared the non-existent “International LGBT Movement” “extremist” in 2023, Russia banned the display of “extremist symbols.” Authorities sometimes include the rainbow in this category.

For example, in 2024, a Nizhny Novgorod resident was arrested for five days for publicly displaying the symbols of an “extremist” organization after posting a photo of frog-shaped earrings painted in the colors of the rainbow online.

The rainbow is indeed one of the symbols of the LGBTQ+ community, but the LGBTQ+ flag is visually distinct from a standard rainbow: it has six colored stripes instead of seven.

Source: independent news outlet ASTRA.