- Facebook owner bans Russian state media networks
- Meta accuses them of foreign interference activity
- Russian state media has faced increased scrutiny for allegedly attempting to influence political events in Western nations
Facebook owner bans Russian state media networks
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has announced a global ban on several Russian state media networks, accusing them of using deceptive tactics to carry out influence operations and evade detection on its platforms. The ban includes outlets like Rossiya Segodnya and RT, which have been accused of foreign interference activities.
“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,” Meta said. The ban will apply across all of Meta’s platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads.
In response, RT newsreader Eunan O’Neill denied the accusations, stating that both the broadcaster and Russia reject the recent wave of allegations against them.
Russian state media has faced increased scrutiny for allegedly attempting to influence political events in Western nations. This latest move by Meta marks a significant escalation in its stance toward these outlets. Previously, Meta had taken more limited actions, such as preventing Russian state-controlled media from running ads and restricting the reach of their content.