Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Russian media have been accused of being propaganda for the Kremlin. Russia Today and Sputnik are no longer welcome in France and the rest of Europe, where the media have been blocked on ISP DNS and TV packages. Today, it is Meta’s turn to officially ban accounts from the main Russian media.
No more access to Facebook, Threads and Instagram for Russian media
Meta took the drastic step overnight of blocking Russian media outlets from accessing its social media channels, marking a new stage in tensions between major platforms and Kremlin-backed media players. The ban includes Russia Today (RT), Rossiya Segodnya and other affiliates, which were already under fire for their coverage of the war in Ukraine.
From the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, these media outlets were accused of relaying Kremlin propaganda, which did not escape Western governments (notably that of Emmanuel Macron). For example, Russia Today systematically used the expression “special military operation”using Vladimir Putin’s exact vocabulary, instead of calling the conflict a war. This editorial line, aligned with the official Russian discourse, quickly raised concerns.
Meta’s final ban (albeit late in the day, given the start of the Ukraine conflict) is prompted by accusations of “foreign interference” in the US presidential campaign. The US Justice Department recently revealed that two individuals had transferred $10 million to a Tennessee shell company to fund manipulative content aimed at exploiting internal divisions in the United States. Attorney General Merrick Garland denounced the operation as a “secret message sent by the Russian government.”
A disaster for Russia Today
Before this measure, RT had millions of followers on Meta’s social networks: 7.3 million on Facebook, 1 million on Instagram and 139,000 on Threads. Thanks to these platforms, RT had gained global visibility, which is now collapsing. This ban, by affecting all Meta users around the world, could also lead to a drop in traffic to RT’s website.
In France, since 2022, RT and other Russian media have already been inaccessible without a VPN. Many RT France journalists, whose activities ceased with the shutdown of the channel, have since reoriented their careers, either towards other media or towards other sectors.
The move comes as Meta faces increasing scrutiny ahead of the U.S. presidential election over its handling of foreign interference on its platforms.
