Meta said it has banned the Kremlin-run state media outlet Russia Today, as well as other networks controlled by President Vladimir Putin’s regime, due to alleged “foreign interference activities.”
Russian-based media outlets and websites, such as RT, Rossiya Segodnya and other affiliated media outlets, will no longer be available to users of Meta’s social networks, including Facebook and Instagram.
“After careful consideration, we have expanded our enforcement against Russian state media outlets. Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other related entities are now banned from our apps globally for foreign interference activities,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
Before Monday’s ban, RT had 7.2 million followers on Facebook and 1 million on Instagram.
Meta’s ban comes just days after the State Department said RT, Rossiya Segodnya and their employees “have coordinated directly with the Kremlin to support the Russian government’s efforts to influence” elections in Moldova in an effort to “foment unrest” in the former Soviet republic.
The State Department also said RT engaged in crowdfunding operations to “procure lethal aid for the Russian military in Ukraine.”
“RT uses proxy media outlets claiming to be independent of Russia to covertly disseminate content and messages globally and evade Western responses to Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.” The State Department alleged.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced charges against two RT employees who allegedly funneled $9.7 million to Tennessee-based digital outlet Tenet Media to influence content published by American podcasters.
The federal government has alleged that the money was intended to fund pro-Russian propaganda in the hopes of influencing the outcome of this fall’s presidential election.
An RT spokesperson told The Post: “It’s funny that there is a competition in the West: who can try to hit RT the hardest to make themselves look better.”
The RT representative added that Meta “already blocked RT in Europe two years ago.”
The Post has requested comment from Rossiya Segodnya and the Russian government.
The Biden administration says the Kremlin is conducting influence operations in the United States to help former President Donald Trump defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House.
Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill this week alongside executives from Google and Microsoft.
The Senate Intelligence Committee plans to question technology executives about how they plan to deal with alleged foreign threats to the election.
