Rishika Shahi
In a significant move, TikTok has announced the removal of accounts associated with Russian state-owned media outlets RT and Sputnik. The social media platform has accused these accounts of engaging in “covert influence operations,” which it claims violates its community guidelines. This decision comes amidst growing concerns over the spread of misinformation and propaganda on social media platforms.
Reasons for the Ban
TikTok has cited the accounts’ involvement in “covert influence operations” as the primary reason for their removal. The platform asserts that these activities breach its community guidelines, particularly the prohibition against misleading conduct.
Prior to the ban, TikTok had already taken steps to limit the visibility of these accounts in the European Union and the United Kingdom. The platform deemed their content ineligible for inclusion in the “For You” feed to minimize attempts to influence foreign audiences on topics related to global events and affairs.
Impact on RT and Sputnik
The ban means that users will no longer be able to access content from these Russian news organizations on TikTok. The accounts have been permanently removed, and their content will be reported in TikTok’s September Covert Influence Operations report.
Requests for response from RT and Sputnik representatives were not immediately answered. Over the weekend, RT and Sputnik both released reports claiming that some of their accounts had been removed without cause.
“TikTok users and our 86,000 subscribers are no longer allowed to know the truth about most urgent geopolitical issues and laugh at Western politicians’ gaffes in Sputnik International videos,” Sputnik said Saturday on X.
Labeling and context
This month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his opinion that Russian media outlets, including RT, had evolved from being mere media organizations to secret intelligence operations. Two RT staff members were accused by federal prosecutors of overseeing a $10 million scheme to support talking points that support Russia while hiding the funding source.
Chief editor Margarita Simonyan of RT has described the company as a “regular journalistic organization” and promised to keep it operating in the United States. “They close entry to us, and we will go through the window; close the window, and we will go through the vents, and we will see what holes there are in the organism of the United States of America,” she said on RT this month, according to Reuters.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings