Twitter is banning two of Russia’s biggest media outlets, Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik, from buying advertising amid fears they attempted to interfere with the 2016 US election. Twitter promises more ad transparency moving forward.
US authorities say both act as “a platform for Kremlin messaging”.
Twitter said:
“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 social media giant will donate an estimated $1.9m made from the outlets into research on Twitter’s use in “civic engagement and elections.