In Latin America alone, RT channels operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and reported 18 million viewers in 2018. African currentwhich was also cited by the State Department as part of the Russian state media’s influence architecture and then removed by YouTube and Meta, gained 460,000 YouTube followers in the two years it was up and running. And Woolley notes that in these markets, there is likely less competition for audiences than in the crowded U.S. media landscape.
“(Russian media) have made progress in limited media ecosystems, where their attempts to control public opinion are arguably much more effective,” he says. Russian media particularly focuses on anti-colonial and anti-Western narratives that can be felt Particularly relevant in markets that have been deeply impacted by Western imperialism.The United States also has state-funded media outlets operating in foreign countries, such as Voice of America, although according to the organization’s websiteThe United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 “prohibits interference by any U.S. government official with objective and independent news reporting.”
Rubi Bledsoe, a research associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says that even with Russian state media removed from some social platforms, its messages are likely still being spread in more covert ways, through influencers and smaller publications with which it has cultivated relationships.
“Not only was the Russian media good at hiding the fact that they were an entity of the Russian government, but they also spread some of their stories in local newspapers and media throughout the region,” he says, pointing to the large South American broadcasting corporation TeleSur Sometimes associated with RT. (On other occasions, Russia will support local media such as Cameroon Middle Africa). “All these secondary and tertiary media outlets are much smaller, but they can speak to sections of the local population,” he says.
Russian media has also helped cultivate local influencers who often align with its message. Bledsoe points to Inna Afinogenova, a Russian Spanish-language presenter who previously worked for RT but now has her own channel. independent youtube channel where she has more than 480,000 followers. (Afinogenova left RT after saying she did not agree with the war in Ukraine.)
And Bledsoe says the US ban could actually be a boon for Russian media in parts of the world where they are actively trying to cultivate their image as a trusted media brand. “The narratives that were shared through RT and other Russian media and also in Iranian media are a kind of anti-imperialist critique of the West and the US,” he says. “Saying that the US is the driving force behind this international system and that they are conspiring and they are trying to harm you, to impose themselves on the sovereignty of other countries.”
While Meta was a key avenue for the dissemination of Russian state media content, it still has a place on other platforms. RT does not appear to have a verified TikTok account, but accounts that exclusively post RT content, such as @russian_news_ and @russiatodayfrance, have tens of thousands of followers on the app. African Stream’s TikTok is still active with nearly 1 million followers. TikTok spokesperson Jamie Favazza WIRED spoke about the company’s policies on election-related disinformation and misinformation.
TO Post on X On September 18, RT’s account was blocked, a day after its accounts were banned on platforms including right-wing video-sharing platform Rumble, X and Russian YouTube alternative VK (RT has 3.2 million followers on X and 125,000 on Rumble). “Meta can block us all they want,” the post said. “But you can always find us here.” X did not respond to a request for comment.