The Russian state owned international news network is being banned in the European Union. RT America has shut down after ten years in operation. The American staff was dismissed and programs cancelled. The claim is that RT was being used as a platform for spreading disinformation. The motivation behind this ban is due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The channel does provide a Russian perspective, but is also critical of EU and US foreign policy. The channel has produced documentaries regrading the Iraq War and The Afghan War. The ban on media based on its country of origin is more like xenophobia rather than a concern about disinformation. This goes against the values of press freedom and free speech. Viewers should have the right to access multiple sources of information no matter which country it originates from. The purpose of fact checkers is to expose false information. Prohibiting RT is more of a political gesture to express anger with the Russian Federation. Censorship is a threat to free press and this will reverberate. BBC and Voice of America are restricted in Russia. These were steps in retaliation for the RT restrictions . Disinformation is being used as an excuse for censorship. Ultimately, the consumers of news around the world are put at a disadvantage. With few sources of information, it becomes difficult to make sense of of world events. RT still remains on Facebook and Youtube.
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