Seven weeks before the US presidential election, the Facebook group Meta is putting a stop to the spread of Russian state propaganda via media such as the TV channel RT. RT (formerly Russia Today) and several affiliated organizations will be banned from the company’s apps worldwide, Meta announced. In addition to Facebook, the group also owns Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, among others. RT has been blocked in the EU since spring 2022 due to disinformation campaigns surrounding the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
Last Friday, the US government accused RT of interfering in “the sovereign affairs of countries around the world.” The state broadcaster is involved in covert influence operations and works hand in hand with the Russian military, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The government in Washington had previously accused Russia of interfering in the US presidential election campaign – after similar accusations had been made in connection with previous elections. The US has now imposed sanctions on several people and organizations, including representatives of RT.
Meta had already taken action against Russian state media after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and had, among other things, slowed the distribution of their content. From the company’s point of view, Russia remains the largest source of covert influence operations.
Meanwhile, RT’s accounts are still available outside the EU and some other countries on Elon Musk’s online platform X (formerly Twitter). After taking over the service, the tech billionaire also had the markings that Twitter had previously used to identify state media removed.
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