Meta bans Russian state media from its digital platforms

Meta, the U.S. corporate owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, “after careful consideration” banned the television news channel Russia Today (RT News) and other Russian state media from being present on its digital platforms, alleging that they participate in foreign influence and interference operations.

“Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other related entities are now banned from our applications globally due to foreign interference activity,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement, cited by the EFE Spanish language news agency on Tuesday.

Meta's decision comes days after the U.S. government announced sanctions against RT and other media controlled by Moscow.

The Biden administration also announced the launch of a diplomatic effort to alert the international community about what U.S. officials consider to be RT's role: a "full member of the intelligence apparatus."

Last Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at a press conference that "our most powerful antidote to Russia's lies is the truth. It’s shining a bright light on what the Kremlin is trying to do under the cover of darkness. Taking action together with our allies and partners to address this threat to our democracies is an effective way of pushing back. And today we’re taking an important step in that direction.”

Likewise, the Justice Department recently announced that it had charged two RT employees with funneling almost $10 million to an American company to create and amplify content aligned with Russian interests in the midst of the U.S. presidential election campaign, which concludes on Nov. 5.

RT had 7.2 million followers on Facebook and one million followers on Instagram before the ban was announced on Sept. 17, U.S. media reported on the day.

According to information from CNN, executives from Meta, Microsoft, and Alphabet Inc., the corporate owner of Google, have been subpoenaed to testify this Wednesday before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee about the work of their platforms to combat foreign threats to the upcoming 2024 elections.