Meta bans Russian State Media after allegations of $10m covert funding

Meta announced late Monday that it is banning Russian state media outlets from its global platforms due to concerns over “foreign interference activity.”

The decision follows allegations from the United States that RT and its employees funneled $10 million through shell companies to secretly fund influence campaigns on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube, according to an unsealed indictment.

Meta stated in response to an AFP inquiry, “After careful consideration, we have expanded our ongoing enforcement actions against Russian state media outlets.”

The ban includes Rossiya Segodnya, RT, and other related entities, which are now prohibited from using Meta’s apps, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads.

The indictment, unsealed in New York, reveals that RT was previously forced to shut down operations in Britain, Canada, the European Union, and the United States following sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

US prosecutors have detailed RT’s creation of a covert network aimed at influencing public opinion in Western countries. One such project included funding an online content creation company in Tennessee, which, since late 2023, produced nearly 2,000 videos with over 16 million views on YouTube alone.

The indictment also highlights a video produced by the company that featured a US political commentator visiting a grocery store in Russia, which was criticized internally as “overt shilling” but still published without disclosing RT’s funding.

According to prosecutors, RT has engaged in malign influence campaigns to sow division and weaken opposition to Russian government objectives.

Since 2017, Russia has been the largest source of covert influence operations disrupted by Meta, with activities escalating following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Meta had previously banned the Federal News Agency in Russia to counter foreign interference efforts by the Russian Internet Research Agency.

Early last year, the Russian government expanded RT’s capabilities with enhanced cyber operations and connections to Russian intelligence, according to the US State Department. These cyber capabilities have been used for influence and intelligence operations globally, with information from covert RT activities flowing to Russia’s intelligence services, media outlets, and mercenary groups.

The State Department noted its efforts to alert governments worldwide about Russia’s use of RT for covert operations and to encourage actions to limit Russia’s interference in foreign elections and its acquisition of weapons for the war in Ukraine.