Meta bans Russian state media for 'foreign interference'

NEW YORK - Facebook owner Meta said on Monday it was banning RT, Rossiya Segodnya and other Russian state media networks from its platforms, claiming the outlets had used deceptive tactics to carry out covert influence operations online.

The ban, strongly criticised by the Kremlin, marks a sharp escalation in measures by the world's biggest social media company against Russian state media, after years of more limited steps such as blocking the outlets from running ads and reducing the reach of their posts.

"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," the social media company said in a written statement.

A spokesperson for Alphabet's YouTube also said the company terminated over 230 channels affiliated with Rossiya Segodnya and AVO TV Novosti, which were already blocked from viewers.

In addition to Facebook, Meta's apps include Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads. Prior to the ban, RT had more than 7.2 million followers on Facebook and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday: "Meta is discrediting itself with these actions. Such selective actions against Russian media are unacceptable. ... This complicates prospects for normalising our relations with Meta."

Moscow branded Meta an "extremist" organisation in 2022 and blocked Instagram and Facebook, objecting to changes in Meta's hate speech policy designed to allow users to vent their anger over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has also criticized previous efforts by Meta to limit the reach of Russian media and fined the company several times for not removing content in Russia it considers illegal.

Moscow's pre-existing bans on Instagram and Facebook may limit its ability to respond to Meta's state media block, but WhatsApp, which Russia has stopped short of banning so far, is used by millions of Russians.

Telegram Messenger, whose Russian founder Pavel Durov was placed under formal investigation in France last month, is also widely used in Russia.

VK Video, run by state-controlled tech firm VK, offers an alternative to YouTube, which has come under pressure in Russia over its own efforts to block Russian state media.

The White House declined to comment on Meta's move, which 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.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that countries should treat RT's activities as they do covert intelligence operations.

RT has mocked the U.S. actions and accused the United States of trying to prevent the broadcaster from operating as a journalistic organisation.

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.

-(Reuters)