The US government has taken aim at several Russian information operations, particularly state-backed media outlets like RT. Despite efforts to ban and remove their content from platforms, these outlets remain influential worldwide.
Earlier in September, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against two employees of RT, a Russian state-backed news network. The indictment alleged that RT largely funded a company called Tenet Media, which promoted content from right-wing influencers. The employees of RT were accused of editing, posting, and directing content.
In response to this, Meta announced that it would ban RT and other media outlets backed by the Russian state from its platforms. YouTube also removed over 230 channels with connections to Russian-backed media. These decisions followed the US State Department imposing sanctions on Russian state media.
Despite these efforts, experts say that Russian state media’s global reach remains unaffected. RT is well-regarded in other parts of the world, particularly in Africa and Latin America. Spanish language speakers make up the outlet’s largest market outside Russia.
Samuel Woolley, associate professor and founder of the Propaganda Research Lab at the University of Pittsburgh, says “Meta’s ban of RT and other Russian state media stings a lot because that has been a core channel for the spread of Russian propaganda.” However, Woolley notes that RT’s influence extends far beyond the US.