TikTok has scrubbed all accounts associated with Russian state media from the platform, citing their participation in “covert influence operations” ahead of the U.S. Presidential election.
The short-form video streamer on Monday announced it has removed all accounts associated with TV-Novosti — the parent organization of the Russian state media RT — and Rossiya Segodnya, the entity behind Kremlin news agencies RIA Novosti and Sputnik. A spokesperson told NBC that the permanent bans stem from the violation of its community guidelines, specifically its rules against deceptive behavior.
Those same accounts had already been restricted in the European Union and United Kingdom. What’s more, TikTok previously ruled their content ineligible to appear in users’ “For You” section over their “attempts to influence foreign audiences on topics of global events and affairs.”
Both RT and Sputnik over the weekend published reports about their accounts being deleted without explanation, but they did not offer any additional insight.
“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,” Sputnik said in a post on X.
TikTok noted that its cleaning house is part of an ongoing effort to protect its 170 million American users and to stay ahead of “evolving threats” in the leadup to the 2024 election.
The move comes a week after Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, said it banned Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other related entities from its apps, sparking backlash from the organizations as well as the Kremlin.
The U.S. Department of Justice has repeatedly warned that Russia is a key threat to the integrity of the upcoming presidential race, and, in recent months, officials have brought criminal charges, sanctions and public advisories to detail actions taken by foreign adversaries to influence the election, including an indictment targeting a covert Russian effort to spread pro-Russia content to U.S. audiences.