DStv won’t pull plug on Russia’s RT news channel

MultiChoice Group said on Tuesday that it will not pull the plug on RT (formerly Russia Today), the state-owned and state-funded Russian television news channel, despite moves by governments and technology companies in Europe, the US and elsewhere to cut off the broadcaster.

Responding to questions from TechCentral, the JSE-listed pay-television operator, which also drew controversy for carrying the Gupta-owned ANN7 channel for years, said it doesn’t “own or have editorial control over the content on these channels” (referring to the channels it carries on its DStv bouquets). It said the ANN7 contract was allowed to expire and was not cancelled, despite calls at the time for it to be terminated early.

The Gupta family has been linked to grand corruption in South Africa, especially the looting of the state during the administration of former President Jacob Zuma. The Guptas used ANN7 and The New Age newspaper to curry favour with government ministers and secure lucrative contracts from state-owned enterprises.

MultiChoice declined to renew the ANN7 contract. The channel had been taken over by former government communications head Mzwanele Manyi (now a spokesman for Zuma), and the channel went bust. It was replaced, through a competitive bidding process, by Newzroom Afrika.

MultiChoice’s decision to keep carrying the RT channel on DStv comes as the ANC vacillates over its response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

President Cyril Ramaphosa was reportedly angry over a decision by his international relations & cooperation minister, Naledi Pandor, to release a statement calling for Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Ramaphosa has since insisted on mediation to resolve the issue, with the ANC, which has historical ties with Russia in the fight against apartheid, refusing to condemn the invasion of Ukraine or to speak out against the aggression of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Others act

The West has imposed severe sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine, a move that is expected to cripple the country’s economy. Harsh sanctions have also been imposed on Putin and his inner circle, as well as many of the country’s oligarchs, who have prospered in the corrupt Russian system.

Though MultiChoice has said it won’t act against RT, many other companies – and countries – have done so.

The EU on Monday moved to ban both RT and Sputnik, another Russian government-owned news channel, from the European airwaves, with the ban also reportedly extending to the broadcasters’ online channels, including their smartphone apps.

Google’s YouTube, meanwhile, said it would stop running advertisements on channels operated by Russian state media. The restrictions apply to RT and other accounts. It would also limit the ways its system recommends those videos to users, Bloomberg News reported.

Twitter said it had started adding warning labels to tweets, alerting users of its platform to all links from state-owned Russian media outlets and other accounts linked to the Russian state.

And Microsoft, which issued a statement condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine, said it would assist the country in protecting itself from Russian-led cyberwarfare and Russian-sponsored cyberattacks. The software giant also said it would remove RT’s mobile apps from the Windows app store.

Meta Platforms, meanwhile, has decided to restrict the ability of Russian state media to reach the residents of the European Union through its platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, complying with EU requirements.  — Additional reporting by Lungile Msomi, (c) 2022 NewsCentral Media