The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Facebook owner Meta was discrediting itself by banning some Russian state media networks from its platforms and that Meta’s decision complicated prospects for Moscow to normalize relations with the company.
On Monday, Meta announced a ban on RT and Rossiya Segodnya, among other Russian state media outlets, alleging that the outlets had used deceptive tactics to conduct covert online influence operations. The ban includes suspending the outlets from Meta’s entire family of apps, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads.
“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,” Meta said in a written statement.
The ban, however, marks a shift from the stance Meta took nearly two years ago. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company, after being hit by partial restrictions in Russia in 2022, had banned Russian state media from running ads or monetising its platform in countries around the world. At the time, Meta’s Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg had said the company would continue to apply labels to posts from several Russian state media accounts.
“We are monitoring the situation in Ukraine and will continue to share on our platform the steps we are taking to protect people,” Clegg said at the time.
Meta’s ban also follows warnings about the disinformation campaign being waged by Russian state media outlets ahead of the upcoming US presidential election by the US government. Media reports earlier this month said the US government had alleged that Russian state actors were using websites and social media accounts to promote their interests in the country.
“The United States has designated three entities and two individuals for their connection to Russia’s destabilizing actions abroad. Based on new information, much of it from employees of RT (formerly Russia Today), a Russian state-funded network, we now know that RT has moved beyond a mere media outlet to an entity with cyber capabilities,” the US State Department said in a written statement.
Written with contributions from Reuters
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