The U.S. State Department has imposed sanctions on media outlet RT (formerly Russia Today) and its affiliates, citing allegations of global covert influence. According to the State Department, RT has expanded beyond being a mere media outlet and now possesses cyber capabilities. The department claims that in 2023, the Russian government embedded an entity with cyber operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence within RT.
The State Department alleges that these media groups aim to influence elections and public opinion across multiple continents, including Africa, Europe, and North and South America. It further revealed that it expects Russia to collaborate with RT in order to manipulate the upcoming October election in Moldova by inciting civil unrest.
Additionally, the department accuses RT of destabilizing the government of Argentina and escalating tensions between Argentina and its neighboring countries. In response to these accusations, RT sarcastically remarked on social media about their supposed power over US elections as well as Moldovan elections.
These sanctions come after last week’s indictment by the Department of Justice against two RT employees for attempting to influence U.S. elections. Furthermore, 32 websites suspected of engaging in similar activities were seized during this operation. The scheme allegedly involved channeling $10 million through a Tennessee company supporting right-wing social media influencers.
The State Department’s announcement specifically names state-owned broadcast agency Rossiya Segodnya, its director general Dmitry Konstantinovich Kiselev, nonprofit TV-Novosti (associated with Rossiya Segodnya), Russian firm Ano Evraziya, and its general director Nelli Alekseyevna Parutenko for their involvement in various illicit activities.
According to officials at the State Department, RT operates online platforms worldwide under different names such as Red (formerly Redfish) based in Germany and African Stream which claims to give “a voice to all Africans both at home and abroad.” However Secretary of State Antony Blinken dismissed these claims stating that they only provide a platform for Kremlin propagandists.
This is not the first time that RT has faced scrutiny; Google blocked them from youtube ad monetization in 2022 along with several other Russian channels while Canadian authorities along with regulators from Britain and EU took them off airwaves during the same year.
