Facebook owner Meta has announced a global ban on Russian state media networks, including RT and Rossiya Segodnya, from all its platforms. The company said the ban comes after uncovering deceptive tactics used by these outlets to carry out covert influence operations online.
This marks a significant escalation in Meta’s measures against Russian state media. The company previously limited the reach of Russian outlets by blocking their ads and reducing the visibility of their posts. The new ban now completely blocks these entities from Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads.
Before the ban, RT had a significant online presence, with over 7.2 million followers on Facebook and more than 1 million on Instagram. Meta’s statement emphasized that the decision was made to prevent further foreign interference by Russian state media.
The Kremlin reacted strongly to Meta’s move, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticizing the decision. He stated that such selective actions against Russian media are unacceptable and will complicate the normalization of relations with Meta. Moscow had already labeled Meta an “extremist” organization in 2022 and blocked Instagram and Facebook after Meta altered its hate speech policy in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Despite previous actions against Meta, Russia has refrained from banning WhatsApp, which remains widely used by millions of Russians. Meanwhile, alternative platforms like Telegram Messenger and VK Video continue to be popular in Russia, offering alternatives to services like YouTube, which has also come under pressure in Russia for blocking state media.
The White House declined to comment on Meta’s decision, but U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested last week that Russian state media activities should be treated similarly to covert intelligence operations. Meta, in briefing materials shared with Reuters, mentioned that it expects Russian state media to continue attempts to evade detection in the future.
The U.S. government recently charged two RT employees with money laundering for allegedly attempting to influence the 2024 U.S. election. RT responded by accusing the U.S. of trying to silence its operations as a legitimate news organization.