• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
TechEngage

TechEngage

Technology news and opinions

  • Tech News
  • Reviews
  • How-to
  • Roundups
  • Science
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Space
  • Apps
  • More
    • Opinion
    • Noteworthy
    • Culture
    • Blockchain
      • Cryptocurrency
    • Events
    • Deals
    • Startups
      • Startup Submissions
  • Videos
  • Login
TechEngage » News » Social Networks

Facebook bans pages that spread Russian-backed videos targeting American millennials

Avatar Of Noor Imtiaz Noor Imtiaz Updated: June 25, 2021

A facebook logo with a russian map in the background
Design by Muntaha | TechEngage

On Friday, Facebook suspended several pages that published viral “news” videos viewed by millions that failed to disclose their Russian affiliations.

After years of failing to suspend or close accounts potentially affiliated with misinformation campaigns, Facebook is now trying to increase transparency about who, exactly, is running pages that post news and propaganda.

In order for the pages to return to the platform, their admins will have to disclose where they are running the pages from and any government or parent company affiliations.

CNN reported that the three pages in question are run by Maffick Media, of which Ruptly, a video news agency, is a major stakeholder. Ruptly is a subsidiary of RT Media, which is funded by the Russian government.

The Maffick Pages

Maffick was running three pages: Soapbox, which published content about current affairs; Waste-Ed, focusing on climate change and the environment; and Backthen, a history site focusing on the role of Western imperialism in shaping the world.

These pages have only been active since September, but have gathered more than 30 million views on their videos in that short time.

The content in and production of Maffick videos is aimed specifically at American millennials. They specialize in criticism of US policies while steering clear of Russian politics.

Rania Khalek is one of the presenters in Maffick’s videos. In an interview defending the videos, she said:

“Working for In the Now, or working for Soapbox, or Maffick, is not an endorsement of the policies of its sponsors, just like working for CNN is not an endorsement of the pharmaceutical companies or weapons companies that play advertisements on CNN. Or just like working for the BBC or Al-Jazeera is not an endorsement of the policies of the British government or in Al Jazeera’s case, Qatar’s absolute monarchy.”

Facebook in Uncharted Territory

Facebook does not formally require pages to disclose their parent companies at the moment, and so Maffick has complained that the media is holding them to a different standard. They have also insisted that every digital media company has outside funding that the public is generally not interested in.

The chief operating officer of Maffick Media, J. Ray Sparks, said in reply that they are “editorially independent” of RT Media and that few other media outlets disclose their connections:

“Because that’s standard industry practice. We get this question a lot, and it’s a funny question to me because why does Great Big Story not put CNN on their Facebook page? Why does CNN not put Time Warner on their Facebook page? The audience is not interested in these things.”

Ben Nimmo, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, told CNN that while the outlets claim to be editorially independent, “they routinely boost Kremlin narratives, especially those which portray the West negatively” and that Maffick’s pages are “broadly anti-US and anti-corporate,” a tone that matches RT’s output very closely.

A Facebook spokesperson said of the situation:

“People connecting with [pages] shouldn’t be misled about who’s behind them. Just as we’ve stepped up our enforcement of coordinated inauthentic behavior and financially motivated spam over the past year, we’ll continue improving so people can get more information about the pages they follow.”

This post was orginally published on: February 18, 2019 and was updated on: June 25, 2021.

Related Tags: Facebook Russia

Related Stories

  • Facebook Launches Tool To Transfer Photos To Other Services

    Facebook launches tool to transfer photos to other services

  • Exclusive: Facebook 3D Reactions Makes First Appearance On Ios Device

    EXCLUSIVE: Facebook 3D reactions makes first appearance on iOS device

  • Instagram Will Soon Let Users Control Data Sharing With Third-Party Apps

    Instagram will soon let users control data sharing with third-party apps

Avatar Of Noor Imtiaz

Noor Imtiaz

Former News Reporter

Currently a MS student in Healthcare Biotech at Pakistan’s National University of Science and Technology juggling pure science and creative writing. I’m an avid reader who makes more time for books than Netflix.

Reader Interactions

Join The Discussion: Cancel reply

Please read our comment policy before submitting your comment. Your email address will not be used or publish anywhere. You will only receive comment notifications if you opt to subscribe below.

Primary Sidebar

Become a contributor

We are accepting contributor applications. All applications will be decided in 3 days after applying. To learn more click here.
TechEngage-Apple-News
TechEngage-Google-News

Recent Stories

  • How to Watch Nvidia, Microsoft, and AMD’s Computex 2022 keynotes
  • YouTube Music App Now Lets You Play the Music on Wear OS
  • Netflix’s Long-term Subscribers are Canceling the Netflix Subscription
  • Google Announces New Features of Google Maps at Google I/O
  • Apple Releases iOS 15.5 Ahead of Annual Developer Conference
Buy Standing Desks on Amazon

Best standing desks on Amazon for 2022

Best work from home apps

8 best work from home apps 2022

Malware detected

Tips to Protect your PC from Malware & Hackers

Disable Background apps in Windows 10

How to disable background apps in Windows 10

Footer

Discover

  • About us
  • Newsroom
  • Staff
  • Advertise
  • Send us a tip
  • Startup Submission Questionnaire
  • Brand Kit
  • Contact us

Legal pages

  • Reviews Guarantee
  • Community Guidelines
  • Corrections Policy and Practice
  • Cookies Policy
  • Our Ethics
  • Disclaimer
  • GDPR Compliance
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Must reads

  • Best AirPods alternatives on Amazon
  • Best PC monitors for gaming on Amazon
  • Best family board games
  • Best Graphics Cards (GPUs) for gaming
  • Best video doorbells without subscription
  • Best handheld video game consoles
  • Best all-season tires for snow
  • Best mobile Wi-Fi hotspots
  • Best treadmills on Amazon
  • Best AM radios for long-distance reception

Download our apps

TechEngage-app-google-play-store

Copyright © 2022 · All Rights Reserved · TechEngage® is a Project of TechAbout LLC.
TechEngage® is a registered trademark in United Kingdom under Trademark Number UK00003417167 and is ISSN protected under the ISSN 2690-3776 and OCLC Number 1139335774.

Go to mobile version