Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta said it had blocked Russian state media outlet RT and other Kremlin-controlled networks.
(The Post News)- On Monday, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta said it had blocked Russian state media outlet RT and other Kremlin-controlled networks, accusing the outlets of misleading influence and trying to avoid detection.
A Meta spokesperson said in a statement that, after careful consideration, they have expanded ongoing action against Russian state-run media. Rossiya Segodnya, Russia Today (RT), and other related companies are prohibited from apps globally for foreign interference exercises.
Before Monday’s ban, RT had 7.2 million followers on Facebook and 1 million on Instagram. The Meta ban on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads comes days after US President Joe Biden’s administration announced sanctions against RT and other Moscow-controlled media outlets.
The US Department of Justice has charged two RT employees with funneling nearly $10 million to a US company, identified by CNN as Tenet Media, to create and distribute content that served Russian interests. US officials say the covert influence campaign was aimed at targeting Americans ahead of the 2024 US presidential election.
Tenet Media includes prominent right-wing, pro-Trump critics, including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, and several others, all of whom have issued statements saying they are victims of an alleged Russian conspiracy. Following the Justice Department’s announcement, RT responded with a mocking statement without elaborating on the specifics of the US allegations.
The Justice Department’s charge is part of the US government’s most delinquent crackdown on RT and other Russian state entities.
On Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused RT’s director of running an online crowdfunding campaign to supply military equipment to Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
Meta’s ban of RT comes after years of cat-and-mouse games between the American social media giant and Russian state actors, with Meta blocking Russian state-backed media from advertising on its platform after Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Executives from Meta, Microsoft Inc., and Google-owner Alphabet Inc. are due to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday about their platforms’ efforts to combat foreign threats to US elections.
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