Facebook parent company Meta announced on Monday that it will ban Russian media outlets such as RT and Rossiya Segodnya from its global platforms. The move, which includes Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, comes after it found that these outlets have been conducting covert influence campaigns on social media, with the aim of manipulating online debate. “After careful consideration, we have expanded our ongoing effort against Russian state media. Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other related entities are now banned globally from our apps for foreign interference activities,” Meta said in a statement.
The ban will be implemented in the coming days. The measure represents an escalation in Meta’s actions against Russian media players: for years it has limited itself to blocking these media’s ads and reducing the reach of their publications. Now, the American company has decided to act more firmly. after accusations that these media carry out disinformation operations at a global level, in an attempt to influence democratic processes in different countries. The United States government has been key in this process. In recent weeks, two RT employees were accused of money laundering for funding US podcasters to the tune of $9.7 million through Tenet Media, a video platform in Tennessee, to spread pro-Russian propaganda and undermine the US political process.
In addition, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced New sanctions against RT and other entities linked to Rossiya Segodnya, which he accused of operating “as a de facto arm of the Russian intelligence services.” Blinken also claimed that Russia is using similar tactics around the world, noting that its use of “disinformation as a weapon to subvert and polarize free and open societies extends to all parts of the world.” According to Blinken, these operations are not limited to the United States alone, as RT has been linked to destabilization campaigns in Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
Since 2020, Meta has specifically singled out Russia for spreading disinformation across its platforms and has taken steps to limit the reach of Kremlin-controlled outlets’ messages. These actions include blocking ads and reducing the visibility of their posts on Facebook and Instagram, though Meta is not the only platform to take such measures: YouTube previously banned RT and Sputnik in 2022. The US Senate is set to question Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, this week about foreign threats to the election and the company’s actions to stop them.
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