Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has announced a global ban on several Russian state media networks, accusing them of using deceptive tactics to conduct influence operations and evade detection on its platforms.
“After thorough review, we have extended our enforcement against Russian state media outlets. Rossiya Segodnya, RT, and related entities are now banned from all our apps worldwide for engaging in foreign interference activities,” Meta stated.
In a recent news bulletin, RT newsreader Eunan O’Neill said that both RT and Russia deny the numerous allegations made against them in recent days.
The bans are expected to be implemented within the coming days.
Neither the Russian embassy in Washington nor Rossiya Segodnya, the parent company of Sputnik news agency, has responded to BBC’s requests for comment.
Russian state media have faced increasing scrutiny amid accusations of attempting to influence political events in Western nations.
Meta, which also owns Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, has escalated its actions against Russian state media. Previously, the company had imposed more limited restrictions, such as banning these outlets from running ads and reducing their content’s visibility.
Following the start of the Ukraine war, Meta, along with other social media platforms, complied with EU, UK, and Ukrainian requests to block certain Russian state media in those regions.
Earlier this month, the US accused RT of paying a Tennessee firm $10 million (£7.6 million) to create and distribute content containing covert Russian government messaging to US audiences.
According to an indictment, videos promoting right-wing narratives on topics such as immigration, gender, and the economy were secretly “edited, posted, and directed” by two RT employees.
Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new sanctions against RT, calling it a “de facto arm of Russia’s intelligence apparatus.” Blinken also claimed RT is part of a broader Russian-backed media network working to covertly “undermine democracy in the United States.”
He added that RT hosts a unit with cyber-operational capabilities tied to Russian intelligence.
In response, RT livestreamed Blinken’s comments on X (formerly Twitter), dismissing them as the “US’s latest conspiracy theory.”
