RT, which used to be known as Russia Today, is a Russian state-controlled television network that targets an international audience.
Media assets
Television: RT International, RT France, RT America, RT UK, RT Arabic, RT Documentary, RT Actualidad, RT Deutsch
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
RT is operated by TV-Novosti, a non-profit entity that was founded by the now defunct RIA Novosti, a state-owned news agency. RT is also the parent company of Ruptly, a video agency that owns the video platform Redfish.
Source of funding and budget
RT is funded by subsidies from the Russian federal government. In 2020, RT received a state subsidy of RUB 23bn (US$ 320m). In 2022-2024, RT is to receive a total of RUB 82bn, the largest budget of all state media companies in Russia.
Editorial independence
There is a vast amount of documents and studies about RT’s propagandistic mission, including academic papers, media articles and NGO studies. Politico published an incriminating report in 2020 about the editorial process in RT, using a study from Oxford University based on interviews with journalists who used to work for RT.
No internal statute and no independent assessment or oversight mechanism to validate RT’s editorial independence have been identified.
October 2023