More recently a rather unexpected move that really got the Kremlin riled up was Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, banning Russian state media outlets, including RT (Russia Today) and Rossiya Segodnya.
What is happening in this particular case?
Let’s simplify and work out the possible reasons.
Meta’s Big Ban Move
In recent days, Russia’s state media outlet has unveiled that Meta, which is already known as Facebook, has decided to crack down on them. They are excluding sites such as RT and Rossiya Segodnya which have been noted to disseminate the Russian government line from their platforms across the world.
The reason?
Meta claimed that these outlets were deceptive and employed “covert influence operations” to disseminate these messages. Meta views itself as someone wearing a costume and getting into a party with the purpose of managing discussions.
Meta has prevailed in other legal battles against Russian media in the past. Earlier, they used to curb the extent of these outlets, restricting their chances to post ads and even burying their posts. Now, Meta decided to go full on, banning it completely. Their statement was clear: “We recently decided to broaden ongoing enforcement against Russian state media outlets… Our apps are now blocked globally for foreign interference.”
Why the Kremlin Is Worried
Russia is not very pleased with it. Indeed, the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov had a lot to say. In response, he argued that Meta undermines its image by taking such “selective actions” against Russian media. He opines that it is unjust and further straining the Russia-Meta dynamics.
Russia has had issues with Meta for some time now. As recently as the year 2022, Moscow went as far as designating Meta an “extremist” group then proceeded to block both Instagram and Facebook following the company’s policies that allowed users to openly complain about Russia’s assault on Ukraine.
How WhatsApp and Other Apps Contribute
Despite the fact that Russia has restricted access to Instagram and Facebook, there is one Meta app that Russians cannot get enough of and it is called WhatsApp. It is still in use by millions of people and Russia has not banned it despite the rumors with regards to such reports. This could hamper how Russia will address the latest move by Meta but it’s equally evident that the ban of state media might be challenging for the Kremlin.
Russia has other choices, however. Telegram Messenger was created by a Russian and is quite popular in Russia, and VK Video, which may be compared to YouTube, is becoming more popular. Therefore, the ban may affect Meta’s operations in Russia, but Russia is not completely isolated from the digital sphere.
Where is the USA in All This?
In the United States, the reaction has not been quite as dramatic. As for the White House itself, it did not have much to say on Meta’s ban, although the U.S. has been involved in its own operations against Russian media. Lately, two employees of RT were charged with money laundering in the USA for plotting to interfere with the 2024 elections.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stood his ground in response to these accusations. He compared RT, and all other Russian state media to spies by telling countries that the latter should treat them as actual spies.
