New York, Sep 17 (IANS) Social media giant Meta announced that it has banned Russian state media broadcaster RT and other Kremlin-controlled networks over alleged “foreign interference activity”.
Facebook’s parent company Meta has alleged that some Russian media organizations tried to influence people through deception and also tried to avoid getting caught.
In a statement on Monday, a Meta spokesperson said, “After careful consideration, we have expanded our actions against Russian state media organizations. Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other related organizations are now banned globally from our apps for foreign interference activity.”
The ban will be implemented across Meta’s platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, in the coming days. The social media giant has been reducing the influence of Russian state-controlled media on its various platforms since 2022.
Before the ban, RT had 7.2 million Facebook followers and 1 million Instagram followers.
This action is in response to recent US allegations that Russian media, particularly RT, is engaging in covert activities to influence people around the world.
Earlier this month, two RT employees were charged by US authorities with money laundering. They are accused of planning to incorporate a US company to produce material intended to influence the 2024 US presidential election.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on several countries to treat Russian state broadcaster RT with similar caution.
The coordinator of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, James Rubin, reiterated these concerns, labeling RT as a channel where “propaganda, disinformation, and falsehoods are disseminated to millions, if not billions, of people around the world.”
RT has ridiculed the US’ actions and accused it of trying to prevent the broadcaster from operating as a journalistic organisation.
Meanwhile, Russia has not yet commented on the ban.
–IANS
SHK/AS