Russian news organizations are expanding despite being banned in the West, the UK state broadcaster has reported
Russian media organizations are expanding their reach internationally as Western networks scale back operations due to financial constraints, the BBC reported Monday.
RT and Sputnik, which remain banned across much of the West following accusations that they had spread “misinformation” – have been growing their presence in other regions. RT launched a Serbian-language service in late 2024, while Sputnik Africa has recently launched radio broadcasting in Ethiopia.
The UK broadcaster said this “coincides with an apparent weakening from the Western media” driven by budget cuts and shifting foreign policy priorities. In Lebanon, it lamented, Sputnik has moved into airwaves previously occupied by BBC Arabic.
The report also pointed to staff reductions at US-funded Voice of America under President Donald Trump, part of a broader push to curb what his administration sees as inefficient government spending.
The policy shift had global repercussions. In Ukraine, as many as 90% of media outlets have faced financial strain since foreign grant money became scarce.
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Media experts interviewed by the BBC argued that Russian outlets have capitalized on the West’s retreat. “Russia is like water: where there are cracks in the cement, it trickles in,” said Kathryn Stoner, a Stanford University political scientist.
Stoner and other scholars published a book last year titled ‘Russia, Disinformation, and the Liberal Order,’ which characterized RT as a “threat to democracy.”
Founded in 2005, RT was designed to project Russian perspectives to international audiences. Part of its strategy has been to challenge entrenched Western narratives and present viewpoints excluded from other global broadcasters.
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