Meta bans Russian-controlled RT

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and Chairman of Meta, has just banned the Kremlin-controlled TV channel RT from all his Meta platforms worldwide.

Breaking News: Meta said it would ban Russian media outlets, including RT, the state-owned TV network under scrutiny in the U.S., from posting to its apps. https://t.co/BDdqHXkXUy

— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 17, 2024

The decision comes amid recent revelations of Russian foreign interference, with US authorities discovering that the company had paid several million dollars to influencers and a far-right US media outlet to promote Russian propaganda in the 2024 presidential elections.

A spokesman for Meta said that, after careful consideration, applications linked to Rossiya Segodnya, nicknamed RT, and its related entities are now banned worldwide.

The Biden administration recently uncovered a Russian plot to influence the 2024 elections. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland accused RT of being involved in this plan at the behest of the Kremlin, claiming that the channel had paid nearly $10 million to a far-right American media company, which then paid right-wing influencers to produce content in line with Kremlin ideologies.

The influencers grouped under Tenet Media broadcast pro-Trump, anti-Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, pro-Russian, anti-Ukrainian propaganda content on several platforms, including Meta, X and YouTube, as well as criticism of Bill 19 and women’s voting rights.

They also promoted Project 2025, disseminated videos of civil protests and content inciting civil war, while criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement and Dr. Anthony Fauci, as well as other rhetoric potentially dangerous to democracy. They supported several controversial personalities, including Laura Loomer, Alex Jones and Tucker Carlson, the latter of whom recently directed a promotional video for a Russian grocery store… we remember!

Some of the alleged influencers involved, who presented themselves as victims of the scheme when the DOJ announced it, were receiving up to $400,000 a month for their content, with payments coming from the Russian media channel RT. Although they were banned from YouTube in early September, some were supported by Elon Musk, who interacted with them on his X platform.

It’s hard to say whether X will adopt the same stance as Meta and YouTube on this issue, but let’s remember that Elon Musk was recently forced to reveal the investors in his acquisition of Twitter, now known as X. These investors included names such as Sean Diddy Combs, but it was also discovered that Russian oligarchs were among those who invested in X.

Meta’s ban on Russian state media will no doubt play a crucial role in the debate on media accountability, as well as the role that technology companies can play in the fight against disinformation and foreign interference.