Meta has banned several Russian state media networks, including Rossiya Segodnya, RT, on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, for alleged “deception tactics” to influence audience online.

The Facebook owner claimed in a written statement that these media outlets used “deceptive tactics to carry out influence operations and evade detection on its 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 social media company added.

The ban enforcement is expected to come into effect in the coming days.

RT newsreader Eunan O'Neill said the broadcaster "and Russia as a whole denies the accusations that have been coming en masse against this channel and others in the past number of days".

With the move, Meta takes a strong stance towards Russian state media companies, as these have been recently under increased investigation over claims of them influencing politics in Western Countries.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that these Russian broadcasters’ activities should be treated “as they do covert intelligence operations”.

According to the US diplomat, RT is part of a network of Russian-backed media outlets which have sought to covertly "undermine democracy in the United States.”

He added that the Russian government has "embedded within RT, a unit with cyber-operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence".

RT has mocked the US actions and claimed the US is preventing the broadcaster from operating as a journalistic organisation.

In briefing materials shared with Reuters, Meta said it noticed Russian state-controlled media try to evade detection in their online activities in the past, with the social media expecting these outlets will continue to engage in deceptive activities the future.

The social media platform attempted to restrict the spread of Russian state-controlled media with limited action, including limiting content outreach and stopping them from running advertisements on its platforms.

After the start of the war in Ukraine, Meta and other social media platforms blocked several Russian state media in Ukraine, EU and UK.

These steps have drawn criticism from the Kremlin, which accused Meta of “discrediting itself and complicating relations with Russia.”

Earlier this month, the US claimed broadcaster RT has been paying a Tennessee firm $10 million to create and distribute content to US audience with hidden Russian government propaganda.

An unsealed Justice Department (DOJ) indictment revealed that RT contracted with Tenet Media to offer lucrative deals to conservative influencers, including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson, to push pro-Russian narratives. These influencers have claimed they were unaware of the Russian involvement and have portrayed themselves as victims of the scheme.

The content, which featured videos promoting right-wing ideology on issues such as immigration, gender and the economy, were secretly “edited, posted, and directed,” by two RT employees according to the indictment.

The State Department indicated that RT’s efforts were even broader, involving influencers in other countries as well. The DOJ indictment also noted that Tenet Media’s six content creators have a combined follower count exceeding 20 million across various platforms.

This large following made them attractive targets for Russian influence operations. Additionally, the indictment revealed that some influencers were paid as much as $400,000 a month. Despite their claims of being unwitting participants, the high-dollar contracts have raised questions about their due diligence and the alignment of their messaging with Russian disinformation.

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