The company "Meta" bans some Russian state media from using its platforms

2024-09-17 18:27:54, Kosova & Bota CNA

The company "Meta" bans some Russian state media from using its

The company Meta announced that it banned Russian state media from using its social media platforms, saying that "they used deceptive tactics to reinforce Moscow's propaganda."

The company, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, announced that the decision will come into force in the coming days, in an effort to counter Russia's "covert online influence operations".

"After careful consideration, we expanded the measures against Russian state media: Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other related entities are now banned from our global applications," the Meta company announced in a statement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized the decision, saying that "such selective actions against the Russian media are unacceptable" and that "Meta is discrediting itself with these actions."

RT was formerly known as 'Russia Today'. 'Rossiya Segodnya' is the parent company of the state news agency RIA Novosti and Sputnik media.

Neither of these media outlets responded to a request for comment from the Associated Press news agency

Meta's decision comes days after the United States announced new sanctions against RT, accusing the Kremlin media of being a key part of "Russia's war machine and its efforts to undermine the democracy of its opponents." her".

US officials announced last week that RT was working side-by-side with the Russian military and conducting fundraising campaigns to pay for weapons and other equipment for soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

Also, according to American officials, the websites of the "RT" network have been used to spread disinformation and propaganda in Europe, Africa, South America and other countries.

Earlier this month, President Biden's administration blocked several Kremlin websites and accused two RT employees of secretly funneling millions of dollars to a Tennessee company to post videos on social media that spread pro- Kremlin. Moscow has denied the accusations.

Even earlier, the "Meta" company has taken some steps to prevent Russian propaganda.

As of 2020, Meta tags posts and content from Russian state media, and in 2022 it began blocking state media from displaying ads.

Moscow has retaliated, labeling the company "Meta" as an extremist group in March 2022, shortly after sending troops to Ukraine and blocking Facebook and Instagram.

These platforms, as well as the social network "X", formerly known as Twitter, were widely used by Russian residents, but after the blockade by Moscow, after the aggression in Ukraine, they can only be opened through private virtual networks./ VOA