_Klay_ Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 Twitter is banning two of Russia's biggest media outlets from buying advertising amid fears they attempted to interfere with the 2016 US election. The ban on advertising from Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik, and all linked accounts, was "effective immediately". US authorities say both act as "a platform for Kremlin messaging". The social media giant will donate an estimated $1.9m (£1.4m) made from the outlets into research on Twitter's use in "civic engagement and elections". Twitter promises more ad transparency Twitter said the decision "was based on the retrospective work we've been doing around the 2016 US election and the US intelligence community's conclusion that both RT and Sputnik attempted to interfere with the election on behalf of the Russian government". The statement, published on the social media platform's blog, continued: "We did not come to this decision lightly, and are taking this step now as part of our ongoing commitment to help protect the integrity of the user experience on Twitter." The decision has provoked an angry response in Russia, with the country's foreign ministry accusing Twitter of bowing to pressure from the US intelligence services, saying the move was "another aggressive step" aimed at blocking Russian media in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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