Ukraine conflict: information warfare by Russia?

Youtube takes action against RT

Created: 02/26/2022, 22:06

By: Andreas Schmid

The Ukraine conflict - a war with two "weapons"?

Kiev after a Russian attack and the logo of the Kremlin-affiliated channel RT.

© Emilio Morenatti/AP/dpa//Pavel Golovkin/AP/dpa

The Russian propaganda broadcaster RT is banned from YouTube.

The video platform is reacting to "coordinated fraudulent practices" in the Ukraine conflict.

Moscow - The Ukraine conflict* is being conducted in two ways: militarily, through the Russian invasion of Ukraine - and with disinformation through targeted false reports.

The United Nations has already spoken of an “information war”.

Not uninvolved in this: the Russian medium RT, formerly Russia Today.

Now there are consequences.

Ukraine conflict: Youtube blocks RT 'for coordinated fraudulent practices'

YouTube has noticeably restricted several Russian state media on the video platform.

"We are pausing monetization of a number of channels on YouTube, including several Russian channels linked to recent sanctions," a spokesman said on Saturday.

The restrictions primarily affect the Russian foreign television program RT, which the West classifies as a propaganda channel of the Russian government.

RT is accused, among other things, of targeted disinformation such as the dissemination of conspiracy theories and justifying the war of aggression against Ukraine.

YouTube will significantly limit the recommendations for these channels, the spokesman said.

With the current measures, all RT channels worldwide are being cut off from YouTube advertising revenue.

"Our teams are also working to quickly remove content that violates our policies." In the past few days, "hundreds of channels and thousands of videos have been removed, including a number of channels for coordinated fraudulent practices."

All information on the Ukraine war can be found on our topic page on the Ukraine conflict*.

Ukraine conflict: Even before Russia's invasion, there was trouble about RT

In Germany, YouTube had previously taken action against the German offshoot of RT in the context of false information about the corona pandemic *.

The German-language channel RT DE was deleted in September for violating community guidelines.

Immediately before the escalation in the Ukraine conflict, there was already a fuss about RT.

Germany refused RT the television broadcasting license.

As a result, Deutsche Welle was no longer allowed to broadcast in Russia.

The Kremlin called this a "retaliatory measure".

The RT cause has been causing differences between Moscow and Berlin for years.

In September, RT already sensed a "real media war that the state of Germany is declaring against the state of Russia".

The dispute over the broadcasting license was also an issue at the meeting between Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Putin's minister attacked Germany several times*.

Meeting before the Ukraine conflict escalated: Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (The Greens) and her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow in January.

© IMAGO / SNA

Ukraine conflict: RT - the extended arm of Russia

RT is part of the media company Rossiya Sevodnya (Russia today), which also owns Sputnik.

The station has several international branches, for example in Spanish or Arabic.

The offer varies by country and is individually tailored to the target group.

For example, RT Arabic has more news about the Middle East, which is intended to build trust with the reader.

The German broadcaster RT Deutsch has existed since 2014 and was renamed RT DE in 2020.

According to their own statement, the offshoot RTs are consumed in more than 100 countries.

The reach is large and so is the opportunity to focus on Russia's interests.

RT is considered an extension of the Kremlin and its most important tool in the fight for public opinion.

In the texts, the Russian perspective on global political issues should be mentioned and the "aggressive propaganda" of the West should be counteracted.

"RT DE gives its audience an insight into the logic, interests and views of Russia," reads the RT website.

In this context, the Kremlin around President Vladimir Putin* relies on the strategy of nation branding.

This is the goal of using strategic communication to bring a country closer to an external audience.

The fact that RT was not available in Russian until 2014 shows how much a non-Russian audience is intended to be addressed.

This will not be the case on YouTube for the time being.

All information on the Ukraine conflict can be found in our news ticker.

This map illustrates where the Ukraine War is raging and this map shows the areas already conquered in the Ukraine War.