The Meta platform has blocked RT, Rossiya Segodnya, and other Russian state media on its online services worldwide. These Russian government-run or state-funded entities will use deceptive tactics to secretly influence the US presidential election campaign. The exclusion affects all Meta platforms, namely Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp.
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RT and Sputnik have been banned in the EU since March 2022 due to allegations of war propaganda following the Russian attack on Ukraine. Meta then blocked Russian state media in the EU. YouTube also preceded the EU ban by blocking RT and Sputnik channels in Europe. In addition, content denying the Russian invasion of Ukraine was removed from YouTube.
This content has so far been more widely distributed in the United States. However, Meta did not show ads from Russian state media worldwide for two years and gave their articles a lower priority so that they were shown less often. In addition, users have to explicitly confirm whether they want to share or click on these types of posts.
RT with over 7 million followers on Facebook
Now Meta Platforms is hardening its stance. “After careful consideration, we have expanded our ongoing measures against Russian state media. Rossiya Segodnya, RT, and other affiliated companies are now banned from our apps worldwide due to foreign interference activities,” Meta’s written statement said. For example, Reuters,
RT previously had more than 7.2 million followers on Facebook and more than one million followers on Instagram. In addition, already blocked YouTube channels of Russian state media have been permanently removed, a spokesman for the Google group Alphabet reported. This affects more than 230 channels that would belong to Rossiya Segodnya and “AVO TV Novosti”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Meta is discrediting itself with these actions. Such selective measures against Russian media are unacceptable. This complicates the prospects for normalizing our relations with Meta.” Facebook and Instagram are banned in Russia from March 2022 because, in Moscow’s opinion, the platforms have not taken action against criticism expressed there of the attack on Ukraine. Meta was therefore classified as an “extremist organization” in Russia. However, WhatsApp is still allowed in the country and is also used by millions of Russians.
US State Department’s allegations against RT & Co
The ban and boycott of Russian state media by Meta and YouTube is one of the reasons US State Department statement last weekend. Russian state media have therefore been accused of having ties to Russian secret service activities to destabilize foreign systems. According to RT officials, “RT is engaged in information operations, covert influence operations, and military procurement. These operations target countries around the world, including Europe, Africa, and North and South America.”
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However, the United States Department of State will not take action against these entities or individuals involved in spreading disinformation; the US continues to support freedom of expression. However, measures are being taken against covert influence activities: “Covert influence is not journalism.”
RT makes fun of the USA and Meta
RT itself reacts sarcastically to the US accusations and exclusion from Meta. In an RT article RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan explainsThat RT learned from Americans, not Russian spies. At the request of Ars Technica An RT spokesperson explainedEven if the doors and windows are closed you will find a gap to crawl through.
on X (formerly Twitter) RT writes On this: “You can silence us all you want, but the truth cannot be silenced.” However, RT on X is not available in most European countries. It is officially stated that the account was taken down due to legal demands such as a court order.
(FDS)
