With just six weeks remaining until the U.S. presidential election, Meta has announced an expanded ban on Russian state media accounts following investigations that revealed efforts by Russia-based groups to influence U.S. voters.

According to Reuters:

“Meta stated on Monday that it is banning RT, Rossiya Segodnya, and other Russian state media networks from its platforms, citing that these outlets employed deceptive tactics to conduct covert influence operations online. This announcement comes in the wake of the U.S. filing money-laundering charges against two RT employees for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to hire an American company to create content aimed at influencing the 2024 election.”

The scheme involved a Russian influence group that paid right-wing commentators in the U.S. to amplify political division through a front media company in Tennessee called “Tenet Media.” 

Tenet Media reportedly paid millions to well-known commentators, such as Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, and Dave Rubin, to produce videos centered on specific topics and narratives. The commentators were unaware that they were being utilized by Russian state media to incite voter anxiety. This revelation highlights the lengths foreign operatives will go to manipulate international voter sentiment.

Meta faced significant scrutiny after the 2016 U.S. election when it was revealed that Russian groups exploited Facebook ads and groups to provoke American voters. While some speculate that these efforts contributed to Donald Trump’s election, it’s unclear whether they favored one candidate over another; the focus seemed more on shifting global opinion on issues aligned with Russian interests, such as the war in Ukraine.

In one instance, the Justice Department noted that [RT] requested Tenet Media to produce a video blaming Ukraine and the U.S. for a mass shooting at a Moscow music venue, despite the fact that Islamic State had claimed responsibility.

RT’s influence strategy often revolves around providing alternative narratives that diminish scrutiny of Russia’s actions rather than simply promoting one candidate over another. Chinese influence groups employ similar tactics, subtly questioning U.S. actions or interference in Chinese affairs. While there are indications that Russian operatives may prefer Trump’s victory in the upcoming election, their broader goal appears to be raising awareness of supposedly "hidden" agendas to dilute scrutiny of Russian involvement.

Meta has been actively countering Russian influence operations on its platforms for years, including its ongoing efforts against an initiative known as “Doppelganger,” aimed at undermining international support for Ukraine.

As outlined in its Q1 adversarial threat report, Meta stated:

“Nearly two years ago, we were the first technology company to publicly report on Doppelganger, an operation involving a large network of websites that spoof legitimate news outlets. The EU Disinfo Lab and the Digital Forensic Research Lab released open-source research at the same time. In December 2022, we were the first to publicly attribute this operation to two companies in Russia, which were sanctioned by the EU in 2023 and by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2024.”

While Russian influence operations remain persistent, Meta’s recent decision to expand its enforcement against Russian state media marks a significant step forward. This move will likely anger Russian leadership, but their options for retaliation are limited, especially since they banned both Facebook and Instagram in 2022 for failing to comply with requests to remove misinformation about Ukraine.

Other social media platforms have previously taken action against RT. For instance, Twitter banned RT from advertising back in 2017 due to concerns about election interference (though Elon Musk later lifted those bans). Facebook has imposed restrictions on RT in the past, but it has not completely blocked the publication.

It remains unclear how far Meta intends to go with this current ban. However, with just six weeks until the U.S. election and clear evidence of ongoing influence attempts, it’s logical for Meta to act swiftly to prevent further complications.

It will be interesting to observe the extent of Meta’s blocking and whether the company remains committed to this course of action after the election.