Meta bans major Russian state media outlets over influence operations

Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, has announced a global ban on several Russian state media outlets, including Rossiya Segodnya and RT.

As reported by BBC, the company cites the use of deceptive tactics by these outlets to conduct influence operations and evade detection on its platforms.

Meta stated, "After careful consideration, we expanded our ongoing enforcement against Russian state media outlets. Rossiya Segodnya, RT, and other related entities are now banned from our apps globally for foreign interference activity."

RT's newsreader Eunan O'Neill responded, denying the accusations and labeling them as part of a broader campaign against the channel and other Russian media.

The bans, expected to be implemented in the coming days, follow increased scrutiny of Russian state media over allegations of political influence in Western countries. Meta's previous measures included restricting Russian state media's advertising and content reach, and complying with regional block requests after the war in Ukraine began.

Recent developments include an indictment accusing RT employees of covertly manipulating right-wing narratives, and new US sanctions against RT. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused RT of being a "de facto arm of Russia's intelligence apparatus" and linked it to efforts to undermine US democracy. RT has dismissed these claims as "the US's latest conspiracy theory" in a livestreamed response.

[Information sourced from BBC]