London, February 27: In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union on Sunday took the unprecedented move of banning Russian state-backed television channels Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik.
“Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union,” said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. “So we are developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe.”
Von der Leyen said the move was part of a broader plan to ban “Kremlin’s media machine” from Europe. “We are developing tools to ban the toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe.”
RT and Sputnik are widely seen as mouthpieces of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government. Broadcasting in multiple languages, the channels have been accused of spreading misinformation and pro-Russian propaganda. On Saturday, Foxtel suspended the broadcast of RT in Australia. In the U.K., RT is under review by media regulator Ofcom.
