BLAGOVESHCHENSK (Sputnik) — Russia will take tit-for-tat measures following Twitter's ban on advertisements from RT and Sputnik, "which means that work of US media in Russia will be restricted," Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of both media outlets said Sunday.
Speaking in a weekly program aired by the Russian NTV broadcaster, Margarita Simonyan said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and the country's foreign ministry have pledged a mirror-like response to any restrictions on Russian media.
Announcing the ad ban, Twitter said on its blog on Thursday its "decision was based on the retrospective work we've been doing around the 2016 US election," adding that Sputnik and RT had made attempts to interfere with the process "on behalf of the Russian government." Later, the company refused to provide details on the issue to Sputnik.
READ MORE: Twitter Became Victim of Prejudice in Situation With Sputnik — Kremlin
Russian media, especially the RT broadcaster, has faced intense scrutiny in the United States. The broadcaster has been accused of allegedly spreading fake news and attempting to influence public opinion, especially during the US presidential election in 2016.
According to the US intelligence community, the broadcaster was involved in the Kremlin's alleged attempts to sway the election. Most recently, the channel was requested to register under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by October 17. Russia has repeatedly denied these claims over lack of sufficient evidence.