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EU Bans RT, Sputnik over Ukraine Disinformation


FILE PHOTO: Vehicles of Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT are seen in Red Square in central Moscow
FILE PHOTO: Vehicles of Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT are seen in Red Square in central Moscow

Russian state-controlled media outlets RT and Sputnik will be banned in the European Union with immediate effect for systematic disinformation over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the 27-country bloc said on Wednesday in an unprecedented move.

The sanction means EU operators will be prohibited from broadcasting, facilitating or otherwise contributing to the dissemination of any RT and Sputnik content.
Broadcasting licenses or authorization, transmission and distribution arrangements between the two companies and their EU counterparts will also be suspended.

The ban applies to RT's English unit and operations in Britain, Germany, France and Spain.

"Systematic information manipulation and disinformation by the Kremlin is applied as an operational tool in its assault on Ukraine," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement. "It is also a significant and direct threat to the Union's public order and security."

Facebook owner Meta FB.O, Alphabet Inc's Google GOOGL.O, YouTube and TikTok are already blocking access to RT and Sputnik in the EU. Twitter TWTR.N has said it will comply with the EU ban.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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