Meta bans RT days after US accuses Russian broadcaster of disinformation

Social media giant Meta announced on Monday that it was banning Russian media outlet RT, just days after the Biden administration accused RT of acting as an arm of Moscow's intelligence agency.

“After careful consideration, we have expanded our ongoing actions against Russian state media. Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other related companies are now banned from our apps worldwide due to foreign interference activities,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.

The Biden administration announced new sanctions on Friday, and a State Department official called the media outlet a “full member of the Russian government’s intelligence apparatus and intelligence services” in the war in Ukraine.

US authorities then accused RT of conducting covert information warfare operations around the world on behalf of Russian intelligence services.

James Rubin, coordinator of the US State Department's Global Engagement Center, said RT is where “propaganda, disinformation and lies are spread to millions, if not billions, of people around the world.”

Some of RT's activities remained secret, US officials said.

US authorities claim that RT is behind an online platform in Africa called “African Stream” but conceals its role. In Germany, the broadcaster secretly operates an English-language website called “Red” based in Berlin. In France, the broadcaster has hired a journalist in Paris to carry out “influence projects” aimed at a French-speaking audience.

The Biden administration is imposing sanctions on the state-funded broadcaster TV Novosti, which oversees RT, as well as another state-owned media company, Rossiya Segodnya, and its director Dmitry Kiselyov, officials said.

The US has previously accused Russia of trying to interfere in the US election by creating discord and division. In 2018, the US Department of Justice announced charges against 12 Russian citizens on charges of cybercrime aimed at manipulating the 2016 election, including hacking the Democratic National Committee's computers and stealing emails.

Russia has denied conducting information operations to interfere in American elections or the politics of other countries.

Meta began restricting Russian state-controlled media two years ago, and the ban announced on Monday is expected to come into force in the next few days.

Meta’s apps include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads.