Russian-backed RT heads to YouTube copycat Rumble after tech companies enact restrictions

Not long after YouTube and a number of other platforms enacted restrictions on Russian state-controlled news outlet RT, the network itself announced Thursday it would instead begin broadcasting on Rumble, an alternative online video platform popular among U.S. conservatives, The New York Times and Reuters report.
"RT gets ready to... Rumble: After a multitude of platforms have moved to knock out our broadcast and limit social media... You can stay on top of our LIVE broadcast, any time, anywhere right here," RT tweeted on Thursday.
Multiple tech and social media companies have, in recent days, moved to limit Russian misinformation and propaganda across their platforms as the war in Ukraine unfolds, the Times reports. In one example, Twitter this week said it would flag posts that link to Russian state-affiliated media outlets with a label, per the Times. In another, streaming company Roku removed the RT app from its global Roku Channel Store, per Reuters. And on Tuesday, DirectTV, only one of two major U.S. carriers to offer RT's stateside affiliate RT America, announced it would be taking the channel off the air.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
CNN on Thursday also reported that the production company behind RT America had laid off most of its staff, which could perhaps mean "an effective end" to RT America. The network is "one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's main mouthpieces in the U.S.," CNN writes.

Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.