On Monday, media giant Meta, which owns social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, announced that several Russian state media outlets were banned from the platforms.
– With this action, Meta discredits itself. Such actions against Russian media are unacceptable, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Criticized TV channel
The ban concerns, among other things, the TV channel RT – which has been in bad weather for a while.
The US has both previously and more recently imposed sanctions on the channel and its parent company – and believes that RT is a direct part of the Russian war machine.
– RT wants its covert intelligence work, like the long-standing attempts to spread disinformation, to continue to take place in secret, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday, in connection with announcing the new sanctions.
The largest share of covert influence operations detected by Meta originates from Russia. And there has been a marked increase since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.