US restricting RT to avoid competition – South African politician

Themba Godi has accused Washington of suppressing alternative media voices

The US restrictions on RT are being driven by fear of competing in the multipolar era, Themba Godi, a former member of South Africa’s National Assembly and president of African People’s Convention party, has said, in an exclusive interview with RT.

Last Friday US Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled new sanctions against the media outlet, accusing it of engaging in “covert influence activities” and of “functioning as a de facto arm of Russian intelligence.” Earlier in September, Washington imposed sanctions on RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan and on three other senior RT employees, over alleged attempts to influence the 2024 US presidential election.  

Godi pointed to the growing popularity of alternative media outlets like RT, particularly in Africa and other regions of the Global South, as a key reason for US attempts to limit their reach. 

“With the rise of multipolarity and the rise in the popularity, especially of RT, it has become necessary for the US to restrict the availability of RT, not because it is spreading propaganda, but because people are able to compare the stories on RT, whose motto is Question More, as opposed to what we see from the American and Western media,” he stated.

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Godi argued that American media has traditionally dictated what is considered true or false. He also criticized Washington for resorting to imposing restrictions rather than making improvements to the credibility of its own content. 

“I’ve just read something from the American head of the State Department, Antony Blinken, where he said America shines with the truth against the darkness that Russia brings, and doing things under the table. So how do you shine the truth by banning competitors?” the South African politician asked. “It’s very unfortunate that Meta, following on their government, are acting precisely under the orders of the State Department,” he added.

On Monday, US tech giant Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, announced that it would remove several news networks, including RT, from its applications over the coming days. 

In reference to the US’ broader influence over global media institutions, Godi cited the case of Julian Assange as an example of the pressure exerted on media organizations to align with American interests.

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“There is the kind of pressure they are able to exert on them, which [the US] can’t do on RT, and that’s why they are to act the way they are doing,” he said of Washington’s campaign of restrictions.