Meta Bans Russian State Media Networks

Meta Platforms is banning Russian state media outlets for allegedly using deceptive tactics to carry out covert influence operations online.

Reuters reported that on Monday, Meta confirmed it was banning RT, Rossiya Segodnya and other Russian networks, alleging that they had carried out “foreign interference activity”. RT is a Russian state-controlled television network funded by the federal tax budget of the Putin regime.

Meta’s ban was strongly criticised by the Kremlin, and it marks a sharp escalation in measures by Meta against Russian state media channels. Meta has for years adopted more limited steps such as blocking the outlets from running ads and reducing the reach of their posts.

State media ban

“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 reportedly said in a written statement.

In briefing materials shared with Reuters, Meta said it had seen Russian state-controlled media try to evade detection in their online activities in the past and expected them to continue trying to engage in deceptive practices going forward.

Enforcement of the ban would roll out over the coming days, Meta reportedly said.

Prior to the ban, RT had more than 7.2 million followers on Facebook and more than 1 million followers on Instagram, Reuters reported.

Meta’s portfolio of apps include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads. Most of these apps are already banned in Russia, but WhatsApp is still used by millions of Russians.

“Meta is discrediting itself with these actions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as telling reporters on Tuesday. “Such selective actions against Russian media are unacceptable. … This complicates prospects for normalising our relations with Meta.”

Meta’s move came after the United States filed money-laundering charges against two RT employees for what officials said was a scheme to hire an American company to produce online content to influence the 2024 election.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that countries should treat RT’s activities as they do covert intelligence operations, Reuters reported.

“Today, we’re exposing how Russia deploys similar tactics around the world,” Blinken was quoted as saying. “Russian weaponisation of disinformation to subvert and polarise free and open societies extends to every part of the world.”

The Russian government in 2023 had established a new unit in RT with “cyber operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence”, Blinken reportedly claimed, with the goal of spreading Russian influence in countries around the world through information operations, covert influence and military procurement.

Frosty relationship

Tensions escalated between the Putin regime and social media platforms in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In early March 2022 Russia opened a criminal case against Meta, after the social networking giant temporarily allowed some “calls for violence” on Facebook and Instagram, in the context of Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine.

A week after its policy change, Meta banned calls for death for heads of state, but it said at the time it would still allow other ‘calls for violence’.

Meta’s policy move came after multiple reports emerged of widespread war crimes committed by the Russian military – stoking global public anger against Russia and President Putin.

Russia responded and banned Instagram, which had been widely used and was popular with Russian citizens.

Russia’s communications regulator (Roskomnadzor) had already blocked Facebook, after Meta and others had restricted access to Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik in the European Union.

In October 2022 the Russian regime had declared Meta Platforms as an extremist organisation.

Then in November 2023 Russia placed Meta’s communications spokesperson (Andy Stone) on its ‘wanted’ list.

Russia had also blocked the vast majority of foreign social media platforms, but until recently had stopped short of blocking Google’s YouTube, despite fining the platform repeatedly for failing to delete content Moscow deems illegal.

But in August 2024 after a series of retaliatory slowdowns, Russian authorities finally blocked YouTube which had tens of millions of monthly users in Russia.

YouTube had been one of the few remaining technology platforms able to deliver factual news to Russian citizens – free from Russian propaganda.