Meta Bans Russian Media Networks
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has banned several Russian state media networks on its platforms.
Meta had previously banned ads from the Russian networks and limited their content’s reach.
The company accused the networks of using deceptive tactics to carry out influence operations and evade detection on its platforms.
“After careful consideration, we expanded our ongoing enforcement against Russian state media outlets.
“Rossiya Segodnya, RT, and other related entities are now banned from our apps globally for foreign interference activity,” Meta stated.
Although the ban is expected to take effect in the coming days, neither the Russian embassy in Washington, RT, nor the owner of Sputnik news agency, Rossiya Segodnya, responded to requests for comment.
Russian state media networks have faced growing scrutiny amid allegations that they have attempted to influence political events in Western countries.
Meta’s escalation of the ban was in compliance with EU, UK, and Ukrainian requests to block certain Russian media organisations since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the US accused state broadcaster RT of paying $10 million to a Tennessee firm to create and distribute content containing hidden Russian government messages aimed at US audiences that promoted right-wing narratives on topics such as immigration, gender, and the economy.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced new sanctions against RT, accusing it of being a “de facto arm of Russia’s intelligence apparatus.”
“RT is part of a network of Russian-backed media outlets that have sought to covertly undermine democracy in the United States,” Blinken claimed.
He added that the Russian government had embedded within RT “a unit with cyber operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence.”
RT responded to Blinken’s remarks by live-streaming the announcement on X, labeling it the “US’s latest conspiracy theory.”
