CNN
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Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced on Monday that it had banned Russian state media broadcaster RT and other Kremlin-controlled networks, alleging that these outlets were engaged in deceptive influence operations and attempting to avoid detection.
“After careful consideration, we have 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,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
Before Monday's ban, RT had 7.2 million followers on Facebook and 1 million on Instagram.
RT did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.
The move comes days after the US Justice Department announced charges against two RT employees who are accused of investing nearly $10 million in a US company, identified by CNN as Tenet Media, to create and amplify content linked to Russian interests. US officials said the covert influence campaign was aimed at targeting the American public ahead of the 2024 US presidential election.
Tenet Media includes a number of high-profile right-wing, pro-Trump commentators, including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson and many others. All of them have issued statements saying they were victims of the alleged Russian scheme.
Following the Justice Department's announcement, RT responded by issuing a sneering statement that made no comment on the specifics of the U.S. charges.
The Justice Department's indictment was just one part of a recent U.S. government crackdown on RT and other Russian government mouthpieces. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday accused RT's leaders of running an online crowdfunding effort to supply military equipment to Russian troops in Ukraine.
Meta's ban on RT follows years of a cat-and-mouse game between the US social media giant and Russian government officials. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Meta blocked Russian state media from running ads on its platform.
Executives from Meta, Microsoft and Alphabet (which owns Google) are expected to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday about their platforms' work to combat foreign threats to US elections.