World

Moscow-Unfriendly States Lobby Tech Giants to Pressure Russian Media - Kremlin

On Friday, Facebook suspended pages of projects run by Maffick Media, which is partly owned by the Ruptly video agency, a subsidiary of RT.
Sputnik

The blocking of RT accounts on Facebook indicates unprecedented and undisguised pressure on Russian media. The authorities of countries unfriendly to Russia lobby many companies that provide social media services to put pressure on Russian media, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

READ MORE: French Intelligence Services Looking Into RT Broadcaster — Reports

"The fact that the pressure on the Russian media, and the unprecedented and undisguised pressure, is rather gross (exists). Secondly, it is also no secret that, unfortunately, many large companies that provide services in the field of social networks and in other, let's say, digital formats, they are also attracted by the authorities of unfriendly countries as a tool to exert pressure on Russian media," Peskov told reporters when answering a question about the recent blocking of RT pages.

Russian Ambassador on Paris's Attacks on Sputnik, RT: 'Nothing Hurts Like Truth'
According to him, such actions "lead to a loss of confidence and, probably, to serious damage to the reputation of these largest and quite respected international companies."

Earlier, Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Sputnik and RT, said that Facebook's suspension of accounts operated by Maffick Media over ties to RT was a sign of "open geopolitical confrontation," where media platforms are being used as "tools."

She pointed out that Facebook had no complaints about the videos on the suspended pages or their content in general.

Discuss