RT America shuts downs, lays off most staff

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Just days after losing one of its largest carriers, RT America has announced it’s shutting down operations, effectively spelling the demise of the network.

RT America is based in Washington, D.C. and run by T&R Productions under an agreement with RT, the Russian state controlled media outlet based in Moscow.

T&R announced March 3, 2022 that it would be “ceasing production” of the network, blaming “unforeseen business interruption events.”

It said it would lay off most of its staff.

General Manager Misha Solodovnikov noted that the suspension will likely be permanent, which would end the employment of most staffers.

On March 1, 2022, DirecTV announced it would drop the network. Roku had already dropped RT in European markets and said it would drop RT America in the U.S. as well following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

RT America is one of multiple networks RT owns around the world.

On Feb. 27, 2022, European Union banned both RT and Sputnik, another propoganda machine, from broadcasting in any language in any of its member states, which effectively meant multiple European based versions of RT were shuttered. A handful of other RT controlled networks remain in operation in other parts of the world.

The U.S. intelligence community has classified RT America as a propaganda mouthpiece of the Kremlin. RT America was set up as an independent nonprofit, apparently as a way to skirt the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

The network has been known to peddle conspiracy theories, including that 9/11 was planned by the CIA and that Osama Bin Laden’s death was faked. It has also been classified as a pro-Trump by some outlets’ investigations, while others claim it has no bias.

It has also aired content claiming that 5G cellular signals can cause brain cancer and other medical issues as well as anti-vaccination views.

It’s difficult to determine how many people RT and its various networks reach because numbers provided by the networks themselves are widely considered to be unreliable.

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