Russian government-backed broadcaster RT America is ceasing operations and laying off most of its staff, CNN reported Thursday. The closure of the network comes amid a near-worldwide backlash against RT and its local offshoots over its role in distributing Russian propaganda, which included a ban across Europe as well as major tech platforms.
CNN reported Thursday that the network’s general manager, Misha Solodovnikov, informed staff in an email that it would be closing down “as a result of unforeseen business interruption events.” RT America had been dropped by DirecTV as well as Roku in recent days, platforms like Reddit and Facebook had banned links to the outlet and Apple and Google had removed apps for the broadcaster from its app stores.