The US government accuses Russia of interfering in the American election campaign with targeted disinformation campaigns and has imposed sanctions. The Kremlin denies the allegations.07.09.2024 | 2:34 minSeven weeks before the US presidential election, Facebook group Meta is putting a stop to the spread of Russian state propaganda via media such as the TV channel RT. RT (formerly Russia Today) and several affiliated organizations will be banned from the company’s apps worldwide, Meta announced.
The company justified the move with the accusation of “foreign influence”. The media mentioned are conducting targeted disinformation campaigns and trying to circumvent the platform’s control mechanisms. After careful consideration, the company therefore decided to take this step.
In addition to Facebook, the group also owns Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads. RT has been blocked in the EU since spring 2022 due to disinformation campaigns surrounding the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.European intelligence services have uncovered a network that is said to have spread propaganda against Ukraine via the internet platform “Voice of Europe”. 28.03.2024 | 1:47 min
Washington accuses Moscow of global interference
The government in Washington had previously accused Russia of interfering in the US presidential election campaign – after similar accusations had been made in connection with previous elections. The USA has now imposed sanctions on several people and organizations, including representatives of RT.Actors spread false narratives online and test which ones work particularly well, explains political scientist Katharina Nocun. This was also the case after the hospital attack in Kyiv.10.07.2024 | 9:53 min
Blocked on Meta, still available on X
Meta had already taken action against Russian state media after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and had, among other things, slowed the distribution of their content. From the company’s point of view, Russia remains the largest source of covert influence operations.
Meanwhile, RT’s accounts are still available outside the EU and some other countries on Elon Musk’s online platform X (formerly Twitter). After taking over the service, tech billionaire Musk also had the markings that Twitter had previously used to identify state media removed.
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Source: dpa, Reuters
