Facebook has blocked Russia Today’s English-language projects due to ties with Russia

Facebook has blocked several English-language accounts associated with the Russia Today media project. This happened after the publication of CNN that these accounts were hidden from their readers, that they were funded from the budget of the Russian government.

Photo: screenshot of twitter.com/M_Simonyan

The projects were owned by Maffick Media based in Germany. She specializes in producing videos for social networks, writes Present Tense. At the same time, RT owns a controlling stake in the company in 51%.

Blocked accounts were mainly involved in video distribution. One of them - In the now - had several million subscribers on Facebook and several billion video views. Other blocked projects: Soapbox, Back then и Waste-ed.

According to CNN, RT projects were aimed mainly at young residents of the United States, the so-called “millennials.” Many of the videos contained criticism of US policies.

The blocking of accounts became known on the night of February 18. “People who visit these pages should not be misled as to who is behind them,” CNN quoted a Facebook spokesperson as saying. The company emphasized that access to accounts can be reopened if they indicate their connection with Russia.

At the same time, Facebook's terms of use do not directly require disclosure of the source of funding for certain pages. Maffick acknowledges in its statement that it is "like NPR, PBS, BBC, DW, CBC, AJ+ and countless other media companies" partially funded by the government, while maintaining that it did not violate Facebook's rules or spread "fake news."

The statement called the social network’s decision to block accounts a manifestation of “censorship” and “McCarthyism.” A Maffick spokesperson previously told CNN that not disclosing funding sources is "standard business practice" because "the general public is not interested in such things."

In its Telegram channel, RT in Russian called the incident “another proof that CNN and Facebook are now acting stupidly like State Department censorship.”

In the past few years, Facebook has been criticized in the US Congress for what lawmakers say is not doing enough to combat the spread of so-called “fake news.” The participation of the so-called Russian "troll factory" in campaigning before the US elections in 2016, through Facebook in the United States, is perceived as a possible Russian interference in the elections.

In 2018, Facebook changed its rules for publishing political advertising, and also periodically blocks accounts that may be related to “troll factories«.

Read also on ForumDaily:

The Times: Russian trolls are being manipulated by British teenagers

How Russia's 'troll factory' promotes free arms sales to the United States

Recall all: what sanctions were imposed against Russia for 4 of the year

The Senate has published a report on Russia's intervention in US elections: key findings

Former manager of the Russian "factory trolls" moved to live in the US

Washington Post told how the Russian "factory of trolls" covered the annexation of the Crimea

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.