TikTok has removed accounts associated with two Russian media organizations, accusing them of running ‘covert influence operations’.
The accounts are associated with Rossiya Segodnya – the parent company of Russian news agency Sputnik – and state-owned TV-Novosti, which owns RT TV.
They have now been completely banned for violating TikTok’s community guidelines, echoing a move that Meta also made against the organizations last week.
TikTok Bans Russian Media Accounts
More details will be published in TikTok’s September Covert Influence Operations report. We do know that the ban centers upon the guidelines on deceptive behavior, which is “behavior that may spam or mislead our community.”
In a statement, TikTok says that it had already taken action against the accounts, citing “their content was [decided to be] 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.”
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Covert and Insidious Operations
In the US, President Biden declared earlier this month that the news channel was acting for Moscow’s spy agencies. “RT wants its new covert intelligence capabilities, like its longstanding propaganda and disinformation efforts, to remain hidden,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the press. “Our most powerful antidote to Russia’s lies is the truth. It’s shining a bright light on what the Kremlin is trying to do under the cover of darkness.”
The Government didn’t hold back any punches. James Rubin, coordinator for the State Department’s Global Engagement Center stated that RT News is “a fully-fledged member of the intelligence apparatus and operation of the Russian government.”
The news network has long been watched by the US Government. In July, US officials took action against nearly 1000 accounts on X/ Twitter, which were pretending to be American but were actually Russian bots. The US Justice Department said that a deputy editor at RT News was behind the operation.
Wider Ban Across Social Media for RT and Sputnik
RT-News’ X account has also been “withheld” in 28 European countries though you can still access this and Sputnik’s account in the US. Indeed, Sputnik took to X to vent. It posted: “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.”
YouTube and Meta have also put bans in place.
Denial and Determination from Russian Media
RT News denies any wrongdoing. Its editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan was reported by Reuters to threaten that they will continue to get content into the US, whatever bans they face. “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.”.
TikTok’s report on August’s covert activity reveals exactly how persistent these organizations can be. In just that one month, TikTok removed 7792 accounts “associated with previously disrupted networks attempting to re-establish their presence within this reporting period”. These accounts targeted conversations about the Ukraine war; political discussions in Mexico and conversations about Russia.
Meanwhile, TikTok is facing its own battle about insidious foreign activity. The Chinese-owned company is facing a ban in the US after accusations that it has not been ring-fencing sensible user information from the Chinese Government.
While this battle plays out in court, and this very divisive US Election approaches, TikTok will be going into overdrive to protect its users from meddling and misinformation from bad foreign players like Russia, and, ironically, its host country, China.
