Facebook owner Meta said on Monday it was banning RT, Rossiya Segodnya and other Russian state media networks, alleging the outlets used deceptive tactics to carry out influence operations while evading detection on the social media company's platforms.
"After careful consideration, we expanded our ongoing enforcement against Russian state media outlets.
Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other related entities are now banned from our apps globally for foreign interference activity," the company said in a written statement.
The ban marks a sharp escalation by the world's biggest social media company against Russian state media after it spent years taking more limited steps like blocking the outlets from running ads and reducing the reach of their posts.
WATCH | Canadians linked to Russian propaganda: Canadian influencers allegedly 'key' to Russian election propaganda scheme | Power & Politics Duration 11:46 Two Canadians have been caught up in an alleged Russian disinformation campaign that used Canadian and American social media influencers in an attempt to sway the upcoming U.S. election.
Power & Politics hears from a Russian foreign interference and disinformation expert. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that countries should treat the activities of Russian state broadcaster RT as they do covert intelligence operations.
In briefing materials shared with Reuters, Meta said it had seen Russian state-controlled media try to evade detection in their online activities in the past and expected them to continue trying to engage in deceptive practices going forward. »
