RT (TV network)
RT (formerly Russia Today or Rossiya Segodnya; Russian: Россия Сегодня)[9] is a Russian state-controlled[1] international news television network funded by the Russian government.[16][17] It operates pay television and free-to-air channels directed to audiences outside of Russia, as well as providing Internet content in Russian, English, Spanish, French, German and Arabic.
"Russia Today" redirects here. Not to be confused with Rossiya Segodnya or Russian Federation Today.Type
Russia
Worldwide
ANO "TV-Novosti"[4]
- RT America (2010–2022)
- RT France (2017–2023)
- RT UK (2014–2022)
- RT DE (2014–2022)
- RT en Español
- RT Arabic
- RT Documentary
- Ruptly[5] (including Redfish and Maffick)[6][7]
10 December 2005 (registered on 6 April 2005)[8]
Russia Today (2005–2009)
12394 H
LCN 658
LCN 63
LCN 78
LCN 123
LCN 398
RT is a brand of TV-Novosti - self-named an "autonomous non-profit organization" (ANO) - founded by the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti in April 2005.[8][18] During the economic crisis in December 2008, the Russian government, headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, included ANO "TV-Novosti" on its list of core organizations of strategic importance to Russia.[19][20][21] RT operates as a multilingual service with channels in five languages: the original English-language channel was launched in 2005, the Arabic-language channel in 2007, Spanish in 2009, German in 2014 and French in 2017. RT America (2010–2022),[22][23] RT UK (2014–2022) and other regional channels also produce local content. RT is the parent company of the Ruptly video agency,[5] which owns the Redfish video channel and the Maffick digital media company.[6][7]
RT has regularly been described as a major propaganda outlet for the Russian government and its foreign policy.[2] Academics, fact-checkers, and news reporters (including some current and former RT reporters) have identified RT as a purveyor of disinformation[58] and conspiracy theories.[65] UK media regulator Ofcom has repeatedly found RT to have breached its rules on impartiality, including multiple instances in which RT broadcast "materially misleading" content.[72]
In 2012, RT's editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan compared the channel to the Russian Ministry of Defence.[73] Referring to the Russo-Georgian War, she stated that it was "waging an information war, and with the entire Western world".[17][74] In September 2017, RT America was ordered to register as a foreign agent with the United States Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.[75]
RT was banned in Ukraine in 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea;[76] Latvia and Lithuania implemented similar bans in 2020.[77][78] Germany banned RT DE in February 2022.[79] During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union and Canada formally banned RT and independent service providers in over 10 countries suspended broadcasts of RT.[80][81][82] Social media websites followed by blocking external links to RT's website and restricting access to RT's content.[83][84] Microsoft removed RT from their app store and de-ranked their search results on Bing,[85][86] while Apple removed the RT app from all countries except for Russia.[87]
History[edit]
Foundation[edit]
RT's formation was part of a public relations effort by the Russian Government in 2005 to improve Russia's image abroad.[88] RT was conceived by former media minister Mikhail Lesin[89] and Aleksei Gromov.[90] At the time of RT's founding, RIA Novosti director Svetlana Mironyuk stated: "Unfortunately, at the level of mass consciousness in the West, Russia is associated with three words: communism, snow and poverty", and added "we would like to present a more complete picture of life in our country".[89] RT is funded by the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Media, part of the government of Russia.[91][92]
In 2005, RIA Novosti founded ANO TV-Novosti (or "Autonomous Non-profit Organization TV-News") to serve as the parent organization for RT. ANO TV-Novosti was registered on 6 April 2005,[8] and Sergey Frolov (Сергей Фролов) was appointed its CEO.[93]
Responses[edit]
States[edit]
European Union – Sanctions against Dmitry Kiselyov, the head of Russia's state-controlled Rossiya Segodnya and RT television presenter, have been in place since the 2014 invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea. The EU Council cites Kiselyov to be a "central figure of the government propaganda supporting the deployment of Russian forces in Ukraine". Initially, Russian state-owned media outlets were not banned and continued to be available in the EU, with the exception of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.[325][326][327] The European Parliament Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation (INGE) described RT as "actively engaging in disinformation activities" and highlighted that RT and Sputnik are pushing local broadcasters in Europe off from the market thanks to massive funding from Russian Federation.[328] Editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan was sanctioned by the European Union on 23 February 2022 when Russia recognized the Donetsk and Luhansk breakaway states.[329] On 27 February 2022, the EU banned RT and Sputnik from broadcasting in its member countries, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[146]
Australia – Minister for Communications Paul Fletcher requested the partially Australian government funded public service broadcaster SBS suspend broadcasts of RT and NTV news programming on its World Watch platform. Fletcher stated, "Given the current actions of the Russian government [2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine], and the lack of genuinely independent Russian media, this is a responsible decision." SBS suspended the aforementioned broadcasts on 25 February 2022.[330][331] The RT channel was removed from Australian pay TV provider Foxtel's listings the next day due to concerns about the situation in Ukraine.[332][333]
Canada – On 16 March 2022, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission banned RT and RT France from broadcasting in Canada.[334]
Germany – After failing to obtain a broadcast license compliant with the State Media Treaty, RT DE was banned in Germany by the Commission for Licensing and Supervision (ZAK) on 2 February 2022.[335] The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded with "retaliatory measures" to remove German broadcaster Deutsche Welle from Russia.[336]
Gibraltar – Chief Minister Fabian Picardo requested a nationwide ban of RT on 25 February 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, describing RT as "a dangerous source of disinformation that Gibraltar cannot accept on its networks". Television providers in Gibraltar agreed to suspend broadcasts of RT.[337]
Latvia – At the end of June 2020, after new amendments to the Law on Electronic Media were made, seven RT channels were banned in Latvia for being under the control of Dmitry Kiselyov who had been sanctioned by the European Union since 2014. Chairperson of the National Electronic Mass Media Council Ivars Āboliņš said they will be asking all EU state regulators to follow their example and restrict RT in their territory.[338][77] Kiselyov called the decision "an indicator of the level of stupidity and ignorance of the Latvian authorities, blinded by Russophobia".[339]
Lithuania – Linas Antanas Linkevičius, Lithuania's Minister of Foreign Affairs, posted on Twitter on 9 March 2014 amid the Crimean crisis, "Russia Today propaganda machine is no less destructive than military marching in Crimea".[340][341] It was banned by the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania on 8 July 2020.[78] The decision of both Latvian and Lithuanian authorities was criticised by Reporters Without Borders as "misuse of the EU sanctions policy".[342]
Poland – The National Broadcasting Council banned RT in Poland on 24 February 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[343][344]
Ukraine – RT has been banned in Ukraine by the Ministry of Internal Affairs since August 2014, following the invasion and annexation of Ukrainian territory.[76]
United Kingdom – On 18 March 2022, ANO TV Novosti's broadcasting license was revoked by Ofcom, effectively banning RT from being broadcast. This was taken in the wake of RT UK being funded by the Russian government, which, when combined with their promotion of Russian state narratives with regards to sanctions and its invasion of Ukraine, was deemed a violation of neutrality standards.[345] This came after an investigation was launched on 2 March 2022 in these matters, also involving the invasion.[346]
United States – In September 2017, the US Department of Justice compelled RT to file paperwork under the Foreign Agents Registration Act in the United States.[347] Previously, the United States Secretary of State John Kerry had referred to RT as a state-sponsored "propaganda bullhorn" and he continued by saying, "Russia Today [sic] network has deployed to promote president Putin's fantasy about what is playing out on the ground. They almost spend full-time devoted to this effort, to propagandize, and to distort what is happening or not happening in Ukraine."[348] RT responded that they wanted "an official response from the U.S. Department of State substantiating Mr. Kerry's claims".[349] Richard Stengel from the U.S. Department of State responded.[350] Stengel stated in his response, "RT is a distortion machine, not a news organization", concluding that "the network and its editors should not pretend that RT is anything other than another player in Russia's global disinformation campaign against the people of Ukraine and their supporters". However, Stengel supports RT's right to broadcast in the United States.[351]
Political involvement[edit]
In April 2017, during his successful run for President of France, Emmanuel Macron's campaign team banned both RT and the Sputnik news agency from campaign events. A Macron spokesperson said the two outlets showed a "systematic desire to issue fake news and false information".[352] Macron later said during a press conference that RT and Sputnik were "agencies of influence and propaganda, lying propaganda—no more, no less".[353] RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan characterized Macron's remarks on RT as an attack on freedom of speech.[354]
In October 2017, Twitter banned both RT and Sputnik from advertising on their social networking service amid accusations of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, sparking an angry response from the Russian foreign ministry.[355][356] Twitter in August 2020 began to identify RT, along with other Russian and Chinese media outlets, as "state-affiliated media" in a prominent place at the top of their accounts on the social media platform.[357][358]
In November 2017, Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt announced that Google will be "deranking" stories from RT and Sputnik in response to allegations about election meddling by President Putin's government, provoking an accusation of censorship from both outlets.[359]
In March 2018, John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor of the British Labour Party, advised fellow Labour MPs to boycott RT and said he would no longer appear on the channel. He said: "We tried to be fair with them and as long as they abide by journalistic standards that are objective that's fine but it looks as if they have gone beyond that line". A party representative said: "We are keeping the issue under review".[360]
In July 2019, the UK Foreign Office banned both RT and Sputnik from attending the Global Conference for Media Freedom in London for "their active role in spreading disinformation". The Russian Embassy called the decision "direct politically motivated discrimination", while RT responded in a statement: "It takes a particular brand of hypocrisy to advocate for freedom of press while banning inconvenient voices and slandering alternative media."[361]
(in English, German, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Russian)
