TikTok bans Russian state media outlets for ‘covert influence operations’

TikTok has removed accounts associated with certain Russian state media outlets as part of its efforts to protect the video-sharing platform from misinformation during the US elections.

On Monday (Sept. 23), TikTok issued a report on the ongoing work to protect the video-based social media platform during the election period, highlighting that it had removed accounts belonging to the Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik for engaging in what it called “covert influence operations.” The company offered examples such as targeting discourse around the Ukrainian conflict, political situations in Mexico, and promoting Russian policy.

In a statement on its website, TikTok explained that the accounts associated with TV-Novosti and Rossiya Segodnya, the parent organizations of the RT television network and the Russian news agency Sputnik, had violated its community guidelines, in particular its ban on deceptive behavior.

“Previously, these accounts were restricted in the EU and UK,” the statement explained.

“Globally, under our state-affiliated media policy, their content was also ineligible for the ‘For You’ feed to limit attempts to influence foreign audiences on topics of global events and affairs, and their accounts were labeled as state-controlled media to provide important context about the source of the content.

TikTok is not the only social media platform to ban certain Russian state media accounts, with Meta also making the same decision the week before. Like TikTok, that means that Rossiya Segodnya and RT are now banned from Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, along with some other outlets. Other social media platforms, like Elon Musk’s X, have left the accounts of RT and Sputnik up although some countries have blocked even these.

This comes after the Biden administration on September 13 accused RT of conducting covert operations around the world, as reported by NBC News.

TikTok said separately on Monday (Sept. 23) that it removed five covert influence operations in August, alongside 7,792 accounts associated with networks that were disrupted and disclosed in previous reports.

Readwrite has reached out to TikTok for comment.

Featured image: Ideogram

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