Meta said it had banned Russia Today, a state-run media outlet, and other networks controlled by President Vladimir Putin's administration for alleged “foreign interference activities.”
Russia-based broadcasters and websites, such as RT, Rossiya Segodnya and other related media, will no longer be available to users of Meta's social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram.
“After careful consideration, we have expanded our ongoing crackdown on Russian state media. Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other associated entities are now banned from our apps globally for alleged foreign interference,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
Before Monday's ban, RT boasted 7.2 million followers on Facebook and 1 million on Instagram.
Meta's ban came just days after the US alleges that RT, the Russian state news agency, and its employees “work directly with the Kremlin and support the Russian government's efforts to influence Moldovan elections” and operate with the aim of “stoking unrest” in the former Soviet republic.
The State Department also alleged that RT was running a crowdfunding effort to “procure lethal assistance to Russian forces in Ukraine.”
“RT is using proxy media outlets that claim to be independent of Russia to covertly disseminate content and messages around the world and evade Western responses to Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine.” The State Department argued so.
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice announced charges against two RT employees for allegedly misappropriating $9.7 million to Tennessee-based digital media company Tenet Media in order to influence content distributed by American podcasters.
The federal government alleges the money was intended to fund pro-Russian propaganda in hopes of influencing the outcome of this fall's presidential election.
An RT spokesman told The Washington Post: “It's funny how in the West there's a competition to see who can hurt RT the most and make themselves look good.”
An RT representative added that Meta “already blocked RT in Europe two years ago.”
The Post has reached out to Russian state news agencies and the Russian government for comment.
The Biden administration alleges the Kremlin is conducting influence operations inside the United States to help former President Donald Trump defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House.
Meta's president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, is due to testify before Congress this week alongside executives from Google and Microsoft.
The Senate Intelligence Committee plans to question tech executives about how they plan to respond to alleged foreign threats to the election.
