Kremlin regrets that Twitter succumbed to bias targeting Russian media

MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. The Kremlin regrets Twitter’s decision to remove all advertisements from the accounts of the RT television channel and news agency Sputnik and hopes that the social media will look into the fact that these media outlets cannot influence elections in the US or any other country, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"We regret it. We regret it, firstly, because the company is, most probably, strongly prejudiced against our media," the Kremlin representative said, noting that Twitter thus set a precedent of unequal attitude towards its clients, which may "arouse anxiety and concerns among other users of this social media."

"We hope that that the company will consider it necessary to sort out the situation in detail and will come to a conclusion that work of independent media, such as RT and Sputnik, cannot be qualified as intervention in electoral processes in the US or any other country in any way," the Kremlin spokesman concluded.

Earlier, Twitter explained that the decision to remove advertisements from the pages of the television channel and the news agency was based on check of reports on the 2016 US election and "the US Intelligence Community’s conclusion that both RT and Sputnik attempted to interfere with the election on behalf of the Russian government."

The American company specified that RT and Sputnik may remain users of on the Twitter platform. Still, Twitter intends to take all payments made by RT, as well as its future payments, for ad placement there in the amount of $ 1.9 mln and donate those funds "to support external research into the use of Twitter in civic engagement and elections."