WASHINGTON (AP) — As Russia’s war in Ukraine unfolds around the world on social media, major tech platforms are running to save Russian state media from their platforms to spread propaganda and disinformation.
Google announced Tuesday that it will block YouTube channels from those outlets in Europe “with immediate effect,” but said it “will take time for our systems to fully fit in. “
So far, other U. S. -owned tech corporations have proposed more modest changes: restricting the Kremlin’s reach, tagging that content more to let others know it comes from the Russian government, and cutting off Russian state organs from advertising profits they generated in the past. .
The adjustments are a careful balancing act designed to prevent the Kremlin from spreading propaganda on social media without frustrating Russian officials to the point of seizing its citizens’ access to platforms in a very important era of war, said Katie Harbath, Facebook’s former director of public policy.
“They are looking to walk this very fine line; they dance this dance,” said Harbath, who is now director of generation and democracy at the International Republican Institute. “We need to stand up to Russia, but we also don’t need to shut down in the country. How far can we take this? »
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Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, announced on Monday that it would limit access to the Russian facilities of RT and Sputnik in Europe, after, through European Union President Ursula von der Leyen, over the weekend, officials rushed to ban the sites across the EU.
Google followed up on Tuesday with a European ban on those two on YouTube.
The U. S. has taken no action or implemented sanctions on Russian state media, leaving U. S. -owned tech companies suffering over how to mitigate the Kremlin’s success on their own.
The effects have been mixed.
RT and other Russian state media accounts are still active on Facebook in the United States. Twitter announced Monday that after seeing more than 45,000 tweets from users who shared links from media affiliated with the Russian state in recent days, it will upload tags to Kremlin content. Internet sites. . The company also said it would not recommend or direct users to Russian-affiliated internet sites in its search function.
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Over the weekend, the Menlo Park, California-based company announced it would ban classified ads from Russian state media and had gotten rid of a network of 40 fake accounts, pages and computers that posted pro-Russian speaking spots. people posing as hounds and experts, but it didn’t have much of an audience.
Facebook began tagging state-controlled media in 2020.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced that it won’t show RT and Sputnik content or classified ads, nor will it come with RT apps in its app store. videos every few minutes to the site.
By comparison, the non-interventionist technique adopted through TikTok, a popular Chinese platform in the United States for short, funny videos, has allowed pro-Russian propaganda to flourish on its site. The company did not respond to comments in the messages.
A video posted on RT’s TikTok channel features a clip of Steve Bannon, a former senior adviser to former President Donald Trump who now hosts a podcast with a penchant for misinformation and conspiracy theories.
“Ukraine is not even a country. It’s kind of a concept,” Bannon said in the clip, echoing a claim by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “So when we talk about sovereignty and self-determination, it’s just a corrupt domain where the Clintons have become a colony where they can borrow money. “
Facebook’s efforts to restrict the success of Russian state media have already angered Russian officials. Last week, Meta officials said they had rejected Russia’s request to avoid fact-checking or tagging of messages posted through Russian state media. Kremlin officials responded by restricting Facebook.
The company also rejected requests from Ukrainian officials who asked Meta to remove access to its platforms in Russia. According to Nick Clegg, the company’s newly appointed vice president of global affairs, the move would prevent Russians from using the platforms to learn more about the war, make their criticism explicit or organize protests.
“Disabling our facilities would silence vital expression at a very vital time,” Clegg wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
More competitive labeling of state media and measures to minimize its online content can slow the spread of destructive curtains without cutting off a key source of information, said Alexandra Givens, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an organization outside of Washington. gain.
“These platforms are a way for dissidents to organize and push back,” Givens said. “The clearest indication of this is that the regime has tried to shut down Facebook and Twitter. “
Russia has spent years creating its extensive propaganda apparatus, which has dozens of sites targeting millions of people in other languages. This preparation makes it difficult for any tech company to mount a rapid response, said Graham Shellenberger of Miburo Solutions, a company that tracks disinformation and influence campaigns.
“It’s a formula that was built over 10 years, especially when it comes to Ukraine,” Shellenberger said. “They created the channels, they created the messengers. And suddenly now, we’re starting to take steps opposite to that.
Redfish, a Facebook page described as a Russian state-controlled media outlet, has built a majority of American and liberal fans of more than 800,000 over the years.
The page has anti-American messages in recent days. And he tried to downplay Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it a “military operation” and dedicating several messages to highlighting anti-war protests across Russia.
A Facebook post also used a map symbol to highlight airstrikes in other parts of the world.
“Don’t let the Eurocentrism of the mainstream media dictate your ethical help to those who suffer from war,” the message reads.
Last week, U. S. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia sent letters to Google, Meta, Reddit, Telegram, TikTok and Twitter urging them to curb such Russian influence campaigns on their websites.
“In addition to Russia’s established use of influence operations as a tool for strategic influence, data warfare is an integral part of Russian military doctrine,” Warner wrote.