KUALA LUMPUR – Global tech giant Meta will ban Russian state-owned media entities from its social media platforms, accusing the outlets of using deceptive tactics to carry out covert influence operations online.
The ban, announced by Meta yesterday, marks a stark escalation in the world’s leading social media firm against Russian state media after years of enforcing more controlled initiatives such as blocking the outlets from advertisements and reducing posts’ reach.
“After careful consideration, we expanded our ongoing enforcement against Russian state media outlets,” Meta, which owns social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Thread, said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.
Reuters, citing briefing materials from Meta, reported the tech giant’s claims that it had seen Russian state-controlled media try to “evade detection” in their online activities in the past.
Meta is also expecting such media networks to continue attempting to engage in deceptive practices going forward.
Enforcement of the ban, which targets television network RT, media group Rossiya Segodnya and other media networks owned by the federation, is expected to commence in the coming days.
Earlier this month, the United States filed money laundering charges against two RT employees over an alleged scheme involving the hiring of an American company to produce online content aimed at influencing America’s 2024 presidential election.
Last week, in unveiling new sanctions aimed at an alleged Russian overseas influence campaign, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken claimed that RT conducts covert intelligence operations while “functioning like a de facto arm of Russia’s intelligence apparatus”. – September 17, 2024