TikTok has now followed Meta’s lead by removing several Russian state media outlets from its platform, after it was revealed that these profiles were involved in efforts to influence the U.S. election.

Earlier this month, Meta announced it had banned RT, Rossiya Segodnya, and other Russian state media networks from its platforms following the discovery of a scheme using right-wing U.S. commentators to amplify political divisions.

The goal of this campaign was to steer U.S. voters towards views favorable to Russia. This revelation prompted swift action from Meta to tackle coordinated influence operations on its platform.

TikTok has now taken similar steps as part of its expanded U.S. election integrity measures.

According to TikTok:

“Over the last week, our efforts to protect the platform during the U.S. elections included removing accounts linked to Rossiya Segodnya and TV-Novosti for engaging in covert influence operations, violating our Community Guidelines.”

TikTok had previously restricted these accounts in the EU and U.K., and their content was excluded from the “For You” feed under its State-Affiliated Media policy. However, following new evidence of Russian efforts to influence U.S. voters, TikTok has decided to completely remove these accounts.

These developments highlight the ongoing threat posed by such operations, which first gained attention in 2016, when Russian operatives were found to be using social media to influence U.S. voters.

This pressure is part of the reason why Meta has distanced itself from political content, as the scrutiny became more trouble than it was worth.

TikTok's recent actions show that these influence operations are still active. It’s encouraging to see the platform taking strong measures to combat artificial influence.

Additionally, TikTok recently published its latest covert influence operation report, revealing that it removed 5 networks and 7,792 accounts in August alone, all linked to suspected manipulation efforts.

This emphasizes the ongoing challenge of foreign actors attempting to influence voters in other regions to secure favorable outcomes.