The owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp announced it is banning several Russian state media outlets due to "foreign interference activity." This move follows prior warnings from the U.S. about Russia's use of RT to exert influence in the West.

Meta announced late on Monday that it is banning several Russian state media networks due to what it describes as "foreign interference activity." The banned outlets include RT, Rossiya Segodnya, and other related entities. Meta claims these media networks have used deceptive tactics to conduct covert influence operations online.

In a statement, Meta explained, "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."

This action represents a significant escalation from Meta's previous measures, which had involved limiting the reach of posts from Russian state media. Meta, the largest social media company in the world, owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Previously, Meta had banned the Federal News Agency in Russia to counter foreign interference activities by the Russian Internet Research Agency.

The U.S. State Department indicated in September that it is working to inform governments globally about Russia's use of RT for covert activities and is encouraging them to restrict Russia's ability to interfere in foreign elections.

RT has already ceased formal operations in the UK, Canada, and the European Union due to sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to a U.S. indictment against the media company, RT is charged with money laundering related to a scheme designed to produce content influencing the upcoming presidential election. U.S. prosecutors have cited an RT editor-in-chief who claimed that RT established an "entire empire of covert projects" to influence "Western audiences."