Twitter bans ads from Russian media outlets

Social media giant Twitter has banned advertisements from accounts linked to media outlets Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik.

The company 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”.

“US intelligence officials suspect social networks may have contributed in Moscow's alleged propaganda attempt to help elect President Donald Trump,” Al Jazeera reports. “Russia denies the allegation and Trump has also denied any collusion.”

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Twitter's decision “provoked an angry response in Russia,” says the BBC, “with the country's foreign ministry accusing Twitter of bowing to pressure from the US intelligence services.”

Both RT and Sputnik have said Twitter had actively encouraged the outlets to purchase advertising during the election and suggesting the ban may result in retaliatory measures towards US media.

“I never thought that Twitter is under the control of the US security services – it seemed like a conspiracy theory,” RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan said. “But now Twitter appears to have admitted it.

“This is highly regrettable. It is particularly regrettable that now US media operating in Russia will feel the tender response of the Russian authorities.”

Twitter said it would donate the estimated $1.9m (£1.5m) it had earned from RT advertising “to support external research into the use of Twitter in civic engagement and elections”.