TikTok removes Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik, citing 'covert influence operations'

TikTok said Monday it had removed accounts belonging to the Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik for engaging in what it called “covert influence operations.”

TikTok said Monday it had removed accounts belonging to the Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik for engaging in what it called “covert influence operations.” 

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

The associated accounts are now permanently banned, a TikTok spokesperson said in an email. 

The Biden administration accused RT this month of acting as an arm of Moscow’s spy agencies. Social media rivals Meta and YouTube have announced similar suspensions of Russian state media accounts; although other tech companies, such as X, have left RT and Sputnik accounts up. 

TikTok said that, even before Monday, it had restricted the visibility of the accounts in the European Union and that United Kingdom and that it had already ruled their content ineligible for TikTok’s “For You” feed.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tiktok-removes-rt-sputnik-covert-operations-rcna172358

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