Emmanuel Macron’s Campaign team have banned Russia news outlet, RT TV Channel and Russian state-funded Sputnik news agency from its campaign, after the Macron's team accused the media outlet of spreading propaganda and fake news to affect his campaign.
Russia has recently been accused of interfering in the US elections that helped Donald Trump became the president, by spreading fake news and propaganda against his opponent, Hillary Clinton. A move that was the reason for sending out Russian diplomats away from the US by the Obama administration.
Macron has supported the sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis, but his opponent, Marie Le Pen is an admirer of Vladmir Putin, and supports Russia actions against Ukraine. She also visited Russia recently to meet with President Vladmir Putin about different issues, and how they can work together if she wins the French election.
According to Macron's spokesperson, both Russian media were banned as he referred to both outlets as "systematic desire to issue fake news and false information,” “Spreading lies methodically and systematically – that’s a problem, If this creates problems with the Kremlin, it will be the subject of an open discussion in the event of the candidate (Macron) being elected."
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded to the allegations by the Macron team, and said the move by the campaign team was "outrageous." Maria said that Moscow view the recent ban as "deliberate and bare-faced discrimination against Russian media by the presidential candidate of a state that has historically been vigilant when it comes to free speech."
The Macron team gave no specifics of some propaganda by the Russia outlet, but on Feb 4. Sputnik quoted a pro-Putin centre-right French legislator that Macron is a puppet for the US political and financial elite, and news about his private life would soon be made public.
The allegation by the pro-Putin centre-right French legislator forced Macron to deny any extra-marital gay relationship on February 7th.
The Russia news agencies have also been banned for the second round of voting.