Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, has announced that it is banning RT and other Russian state media from its platforms.
RT’s Facebook and Instagram pages are currently down. Over the years, Meta has taken more limited measures against Russian propaganda, such as blocking ads and reducing the reach of posts.
«After careful consideration, we have expanded our ongoing measures against Russian state media. «Russia Today», RT and other related organizations are now banned from our apps globally due to foreign interference», — Meta said in an official statement.
The reason for the ban was manipulation to conduct covert operations to influence elections and politics in the United States. Meta took this step after the filing of formal charges by the US Department of Justice against two RT employees for organizing a scheme to hire an American company to create online content to influence the 2024 elections. The scandal involved an American media company that took Russian money and coordinated content with RT, prominent right-wing influencers it funded, and Elon Musk, who actively commented on and shared the content. Musk and the bloggers have since claimed that they were unaware of the Russian funding of the information they disseminated.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Friday that other countries should treat the activities of Russian state broadcaster RT as covert intelligence operations.
In briefing materials provided to Reuters, Meta said it has seen Russian state media try to avoid detection of their online activities in the past and expects them to continue to try to use deceptive methods.
Source: Reuters