Big Tech grapples with Russian state media and propaganda

As Russia’s war in Ukraine playing for the world on social media, Big Tech platforms are moving to restrict Russian state-owned platforms by using their platforms to spread propaganda and misinformation.

Google announced on Tuesday that it was blocking the YouTube channels of these stores in Europe “with immediate effect”, but acknowledged that “it will take time for our systems to fully boost”.

Other US-owned tech companies have offered modest changes so far: limiting the Kremlin’s reach, highlighting most of this content so people know it’s coming from the Russian government, and cutting Russian government revenue from advertising. they had previously.

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The changes are a careful balancing act aimed at slowing down the Kremlin from spreading propaganda on social media without angering Russian officials to the point of restricting their citizens’ access to platforms during a critical period of the war, , former public policy. Facebook Manager.

“They are trying to follow this very fine line; they are doing this dance,” said Harbath, who now serves as director of technology and democracy at the International Republican Institute. “We want to resist Russia, but we also do not want to close the country. How far can we go?”

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, announced Monday that it would restrict access to Russia’s RT and Sputnik services in Europe, following a statement by European Union President Ursula von der Leyen at the weekend that officials were working to ban websites across the EU.

Google followed Tuesday with a European ban on these two points on YouTube.

Decisions taken independently of sanctions

The United States has not taken similar action or imposed sanctions on Russia’s state-run media, leaving US tech companies struggling to fend off the Kremlin alone.

The results were mixed.

RT and other Russian state media accounts still active on Facebook in the US Twitter announced on Monday that after seeing more than 45,000 tweets daily from users sharing Russian-related media links in recent days, it would add tags in content from Kremlin websites. The company also said it would not recommend or direct users to Russia-related sites in its search function.

Over the weekend, the California-based company Menlo Park announced that it was banning ads from the Russian state media and had removed a network of 40 fake accounts, pages and groups posting pro-Russian discussion points. The network used virtual faces posing as journalists and experts, but did not have much in common.

Facebook began to feature state-controlled media in 2020.

Microsoft, meanwhile, has said it will not display content or ads from RT and Sputnik, nor will it include RT applications in its App Store. Google’s YouTube also restricted Russian state-owned advertising revenue from the site, although stores continue to upload videos to the site every few minutes.

Propaganda on TikTok

By comparison, the approach taken by TikTok, a Chinese platform popular in the US for short, funny videos, has allowed pro-Russian propaganda to flourish on its website. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

A recent video posted on RT’s TikTok channel includes a clip of Steve Bannon, a former top adviser to former President Donald Trump, who now hosts a podcast with a tendency for misinformation and conspiracy theories.

“Ukraine is not even a country. It’s a kind of idea,” Bannon said in the video, echoing a statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “So when we talk about sovereignty and self-determination, it’s just a corrupt area where the Clintons have become a colony where they can steal money.”

“Important expression at a critical moment”

Already, Facebook’s efforts to limit the reach of Russian state media have provoked outrage from Russian officials. Last week, Meta officials said they had rejected a request from Russia to stop checking events or highlighting posts by Russian state media. Kremlin officials responded by restricting access to Facebook.

The company has also denied requests from Ukrainian officials asking Meta to withdraw access to its platforms in Russia. The move would prevent everyday Russians from using the platforms to learn about the war, express their views or stage protests, according to Nick Clegg, who was recently appointed vice president of the company for global affairs.

“We believe that disabling our services will silence the significant expression at a critical juncture,” Clegg wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

More aggressive state media exposure and moves to remove content from the Internet can help reduce the spread of harmful material without interrupting a key source of information, said Alexandra Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology. not based in Washington. profit.

“These platforms are a way for dissidents to organize and repel,” said Givens. “The clearest indication of this is that the regime is trying to block access to Facebook and Twitter.”

Extended propaganda mechanism

Russia has spent years building its extensive propaganda machine, which has dozens of websites targeting millions of people in different languages. This preparation makes it difficult for any technology company to get a quick response, Graham Shellenberger told Miburo Solutions, a company that monitors misinformation and influence campaigns.

“This is a system that has been built for 10 years, especially when it comes to Ukraine,” Shellenberger said. “They have created the channels, they have created the messengers. And suddenly now, we are starting to take action against him.”

Redfish, a Russian-controlled Facebook page, has built an audience, mostly in the United States and a liberal audience with more than 800,000 followers over the years.

The site has published anti-American sentiment in recent days, trying to downplay the Russian invasion of Ukraine by calling it a “military operation” and dedicating a number of posts to highlight anti-war protests across Russia.

A Facebook post also used a map image to highlight airstrikes in other parts of the world.

“Do not let the Eurocentrism of the mainstream media dictate your moral support to the victims of the war,” the post read.

Last week, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia sent letters to Google, Meta, Reddit, Telegram, TikTok and Twitter urging them to limit such Russian-influenced campaigns on their websites.

“Apart from the established use of Russian influence companies as a tool of strategic influence, information warfare is an integral part of Russian military dogma,” Warner wrote.