The U.S. State Department has imposed sanctions on media outlet RT (formerly Russia Today) and its affiliates for alleged global covert influence activities. According to the department, RT aims to influence elections and public opinion in Africa, Europe, North America, and South America.
The State Department revealed that RT has expanded its capabilities beyond being a simple media outlet, incorporating cyber operational capabilities within its structure. The Russian government reportedly embedded an entity with cyber operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence within RT.
The department also stated that Russia is expected to collaborate with RT to interfere in the October election in Moldova by inciting civil unrest. Additionally, RT is accused of destabilizing the government of Argentina and escalating tensions between Argentina and its neighboring countries.
Furthermore, the State Department named state-owned broadcast agency Rossiya Segodnya, its director general Dmitry Konstantinovich Kiselev, and nonprofit TV-Novosti, which controls RT, in the sanctions announcement. The department also accused Russian firm Ano Evraziya and its general director Nelli Alekseyevna Parutenko of involvement in a vote-purchasing scheme in Moldova.
RT is alleged to be a proxy weapons-purchaser for Russia through crowdfunding, importing military equipment and supplies to avoid detection. The State Department claims that RT operates online platforms worldwide, including Red (formerly Redfish) based in Germany, and African Stream, which claims to provide a voice to Africans but is accused of promoting Kremlin propaganda.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that U.S. diplomats have been instructed to share evidence of RT’s expanded capabilities and its targeting of individual countries and information ecosystems. This recent scrutiny is not the first for RT, as the outlet faced restrictions in 2022, including Google blocking RT from Youtube ad monetization and regulators in Canada, Britain, and the EU taking RT off the airwaves. Please rewrite this sentence.
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