Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has gone a step further to shut down RT, and other Russian state-controlled media worldwide. This has come at the time when there are emerging issues on the use of disinformation and propaganda about the Russia Ukraine war. It’s unbelievable how Russian-backed media influence is on the rise as planetary tensions increase; meta falling in line with other tech giants aims at eliminating state-backed content. 

This effectively means that now other Russian state-run networks like RT will not be allowed to post content or place advertisements on Facebook, Instagram or any Meta platform. This is in response to increasing doubts over the quality of these outlets which has been claimed to have been instrumental in the spread of fake news, particularly concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Meta’s step can be regarded as taken in response to actions of several governments and organizations that sought to introduce sanctions and restrictions on Russian state-owned media that played a role in spreading pro-Russian narratives and misinformation concerning worldwide processes. 

Highlights 

1- Meta has worldwide suspend RT and other Russian state media due to disinformation. 

2- The move comes after many countries accused Russia of involving itself in the propagation of fake news especially during the Ukraine crisis. 

3- The decision of Meta follows similar actions by tech companies and countries to subtract the power of state-related media in the international scene.

It is in tandem with the current trend in Meta where the company has been committed to halt the spread of toxic information. For this reason, the company has already taken several steps to address misinformation such as announcing posts from state-owned media as, and lowering the reach of such posts in people’s news feeds. Still, the complete expulsion of Russian state channels is a escalation in the fight against fake news wars. 

The ban also imposes Meta’s understanding of the increasing risks stemming from the governments and the non-governmental organizations, especially EU and US, where the majority of them called a firm that regulates the influence of Russian state channels. Many nations have already completely blocked RT and the European Union is also moving to stop the channel from being aired in the territory of the union. 

Disabling these media from having access to its platforms will ensure that Meta does not provide fertile ground for the conduct of disinformation campaigns which may alter the opinions of people, and lead to the disturbance of diplomacy among nations. This decision also speaks about the function that social media platforms perform in the current informational environment that is more viewed as the active editors of the informational flow than merely platforms.

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