Facebook owner Meta said Monday it was banning RT, Rossiya Segodnya and other Russian state media networks, alleging the outlets used deceptive tactics to carry out influence operations while evading detection on the social media company’s platforms.
“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,” the company said in a written statement.
The ban will take effect in the coming days, it said. In addition to Facebook, Meta’s apps include Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads.
The Russian embassy did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The ban marks a sharp escalation in actions by the world’s largest social media company against Russian state media, after years of taking more limited measures such as blocking outlets from running ads and reducing the reach of their posts.
This came after the US filed money laundering charges earlier this month against two RT employees over what officials said was a scheme to hire a US company to produce online content to influence the 2024 election.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new sanctions against the Russian state-backed media company formerly known as Russia Today after new information obtained from the organization’s employees showed it was “functioning as a de facto arm of Russia’s intelligence apparatus.”
“Today we are exposing how Russia is using similar tactics around the world,” Blinken said. “The use of disinformation as a weapon to subvert and polarize free and open societies extends to every part of the world.”
The Russian government has set up a new unit at RT in 2023 with “cyber operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence,” Blinken said, with the aim of spreading Russian influence in countries around the world through information operations, covert influence and military procurement.
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Blinken said the US Treasury would sanction three entities and two individuals linked to Rossiya Segodnya, the Russian state-run media company. The decision came after the announcement earlier this month that RT had funneled nearly $10 million to US conservative influencers through a local company to produce videos intended to influence the outcome of the US presidential election in November.
Speaking to State Department reporters on Friday, Blinken accused RT of crowdfunding weapons and equipment for Russian soldiers in Ukraine, including sniper rifles, gun scopes, bulletproof vests, night vision equipment, drones, radio equipment and diesel generators. Some of the equipment, including reconnaissance drones, could have come from China, he said.
Blinken also detailed how the organization had targeted countries in Europe, Africa, and North and South America. In particular, he said RT leadership had coordinated directly with the Kremlin to attack the October 2024 elections in Moldova, a former Soviet state in Europe where Russia has been accused of waging hybrid warfare to exert greater influence. In particular, he said, RT leadership had “attempted to foment unrest in Moldova, likely with the specific goal of causing protests to turn violent.”
“RT is aware of and prepared to support Russia’s plans to incite protests should the election not result in a Russian-preferred candidate winning the presidency,” Blinken said.
Andrew Roth contributed reporting