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U.S. Sanctions RT for Foreign Meddling, War Fundraising

The Russian state-backed media company isn’t just a propaganda network, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday announced new sanctions against RT, the Russian state-backed media company once known as Russia Today. RT has been “functioning like a de facto arm of Russia’s intelligence apparatus,” Blinken told reporters, a few weeks after the Department of Justice alleged RT had funneled $10 million into a MAGA media group to have right-wing commentators in the U.S. push narratives favorable to Russia and to former President Donald Trump. Two RT employees were indicted over that effort. “RT wants its new covert intelligence capabilities, like its longstanding propaganda disinformation efforts, to remain hidden,” Blinken added. In a press release, the State Department said RT has been deploying “covert activities” to “interfere in foreign elections and procure weapons for its war against Ukraine.” Besides the upcoming presidential election in the U.S., RT has been meddling in internal affairs in Argentina, France and Moldova, it claimed. The U.S. was joined in its sanctions against RT by Canada and Great Britain.