Tue Sep 17 06:23:33 UTC 2024: ## Meta Bans Russian State Media Outlets Globally for “Foreign Interference Activity”
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, has announced a global ban on Russian state media outlets, including RT and Rossiya Segodnya, citing “foreign interference activity.” The move comes after the United States accused RT of funneling $10 million through shell entities to covertly fund influence campaigns on social media platforms.
An unsealed indictment alleges that RT, which has been sanctioned by the US, UK, EU, and Canada since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, created “an entire empire of covert projects” to manipulate public opinion in Western audiences. This included funding and directing an online content creation company in Tennessee, which produced nearly 2,000 videos on YouTube with over 16 million views. Prosecutors claim the company, which never disclosed its ties to RT, pushed for the creation of content like a video of a “well known US political commentator visiting a grocery store in Russia,” which felt like “overt shilling” to some involved.
Meta has been actively combating foreign interference activities on its platforms since 2017, with Russia being the biggest source of such operations. The company previously banned the Federal News Agency in Russia due to similar concerns.
The US State Department has highlighted that Russia’s cyber capabilities are focused on influence and intelligence operations globally and that information gathered by RT’s covert operations is shared with Russian intelligence services, media outlets, mercenary groups, and other government proxies.
The State Department has stated it is working with other governments to expose Russia’s use of RT for covert activities and encourage them to limit Russia’s ability to interfere in foreign elections and procure weapons for the war in Ukraine.
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