**Meta Imposes Worldwide Ban on Russian State Media RT and Rossiya Segodnya Following US Sanctions**
In a notable development, Meta, the parent firm of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, has declared a worldwide ban on Russian state media organizations RT (previously Russia Today) and Rossiya Segodnya. This announcement follows closely on the heels of the US government’s sanctions against these outlets, which have been accused of partaking in covert influence campaigns intended to destabilize other countries.
### Meta’s Comprehensive Ban on Russian State Media
Meta’s choice to globally prohibit RT and Rossiya Segodnya aligns with prior measures against Russian state-controlled media since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. In March 2022, Meta had previously blocked RT and Rossiya Segodnya’s Sputnik network throughout Europe, adhering to a ban set forth by European Union officials. YouTube similarly took measures to block these channels on a global scale.
Nonetheless, until this point, Meta had refrained from applying the ban worldwide. Rather, the company had enforced restrictions that curtailed the reach of Russian state media content. Such restrictions encompassed not allowing RT and Rossiya Segodnya to publish ads, reducing the prominence of their content in user feeds, and incorporating warnings for users before they shared or accessed content from these sources.
In its recent announcement, Meta clarified that the choice to broaden the ban globally was reached after “thoughtful deliberation.” The company highlighted concerns regarding foreign interference activities associated with Russian state media as the principal reason for the ban. Meta asserted that RT, Rossiya Segodnya, and other associated entities are now prohibited on all its platforms globally.
### US Sanctions and Claims of Covert Influence
Meta’s decision mirrors recent initiatives of the US government. On Friday, the US State Department unveiled sanctions against Russian state media organizations, including RT and Rossiya Segodnya, for their role in covert influence operations. The US government alleges that these outlets have coordinated with the Kremlin to undermine foreign countries through disinformation and clandestine actions.
The US State Department specified that the sanctions were not enacted based on the content of these outlets’ reporting or the disinformation they disseminate publicly. Instead, the sanctions are directed at their covert influence efforts, which, according to the US government, represent state-sponsored manipulation rather than true journalism aimed at subverting democratic processes in other countries.
One of the main accusations is that RT and its Editor-in-Chief, Margarita Simonyan, have been heavily engaged in attempts to sway the forthcoming October 2024 Moldovan election. The US asserts that Simonyan and RT have worked in unison with the Kremlin to provoke turmoil in Moldova, intending to escalate protests into violence if the election does not culminate in a Russia-favored candidate being elected president.
Additionally, the US has accused individuals tied to Rossiya Segodnya of liaising with the Kremlin to incite unrest in Moldova. The US government has seized most dealings associated with these entities, and all assets or interests owned by designated individuals within the United States or controlled by US persons must be reported to the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
### RT’s Reaction: Irony and Resistance
In reaction to Meta’s global ban and the US sanctions, RT has expressed ironic and resistant remarks. RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan ridiculed the measures taken against the organization, insinuating that RT had adopted its methods from the Americans rather than Russian intelligence. An article published by RT concerning the Meta ban featured Simonyan humorously suggesting that RT had been “broadcasting straight from the KGB headquarters all this time.”
RT’s press office also released a statement in reaction to the Meta ban, pledging to devise methods to bypass the restrictions. The statement said, “It’s amusing how there’s a competition in the West—who can try to impose the harshest measures on RT to enhance their own image. Meta/Facebook already restricted RT in Europe two years prior, and now they’re stifling information flow globally. Rest assured, where they shut a door, then a window, our ‘partisans’ (or in your language, guerrilla fighters) will discover the gaps to maneuver through.”
RT’s defiance was further underscored in its response to the US State Department’s sanctions. According to CNN, RT dispatched a sarcastic email to the US government, declaring, “We’ve been broadcasting straight from the KGB headquarters all this time.”
Despite the bans and sanctions, RT continues to operate on X (formerly Twitter). In a recent communication, the organization remarked, “On behalf of our team: Silence us all you want, but there’s no way to silence the truth.”
### The Larger Picture: Russia’s Information Warfare
The initiatives undertaken by Meta and the US government are part of a broader campaign to combat Russian information warfare, which has been a vital part of the Kremlin’s foreign policy agenda. Russian state media entities like RT and Rossiya Seg…
