(REPORT) — Facebook has blocked RT, the Kremlin-backed English news outlet formerly known as Russia Today, from posting videos, photos and news articles until the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The ban was enacted after a copyright complaint about a video stream of Barack Obama’s press conference on RT’s Facebook page on Wednesday.
According to Facebook, the 72-hour length of the suspension – until 7.25pm GMT on Saturday, is not related to Friday night’s inauguration. RT said it was attempting to restore its privileges before the event.
The RT website said it had been using a legitimate stream from the Associated Press, and that it had been blocked after a misplaced or accidental complaint from Current Time TV, a Russian-language news programme partly run by Radio Free Europe, a broadcasting organisation funded by the US government. Current Time TV said it had not send a complaint.
Facebook will occasionally suspend accounts for copyright violation, although there are few examples of it happening to news organisations.
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Facebook blocks Russia Today from posting until day after Trump’s inauguration