With its first international channel launched in 2005, RT is, today, a global TV news network providing breaking stories, current affairs coverage, commentary and documentaries in ten languages: English, Arabic, Spanish, French, German, Serbian, Chinese, Hindi, Portuguese and Russian; it also includes multimedia news agency RUPTLY.
RT is available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic on TV and online in many African countries. In 2023, RT became the first Russian channel to join the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB). RT boasts an extensive network of partner journalists in dozens of African countries, providing the channel with a unique, local perspective on the continent’s diverse stories. More than 80 African TV channels already include RT content on airwaves and online platforms.
RT’s global reach has expanded significantly — in 2024 alone, RT projects received more than 23 billion views online, and the following year, almost doubled that with over 40 billion views. This growth is particularly notable in Africa, where RT has established a strong presence. According to Gen. Michael Langley, former Head of US Africa Command, Russia’s narrative has gained more traction than the US government’s in the region. This sentiment is echoed by former EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell, who has expressed concern that the West is losing the information war to RT.
RT programs like “Lumumba’s Africa”, hosted by the internationally renowned pan-Africanist, activist, and Professor PLO Lumumba, are translated into multiple languages and broadcast on RT channels worldwide, reaching audiences from Latin America to Asia. RT’s project “African Legacy” has featured the descendants of legendary African leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Patrice Lumumba, Julius Nyerere and others.
RT also presents a documentary series, “Africa Within”, designed to reveal the African continent and its people in a new light: Africa overcoming the challenges of the modern world and its colonial legacy, and the African people who are tirelessly fighting for a brighter future.
In 2024, RT’s “Your values. Shared” ad campaign in Africa addressed the continent’s colonial legacy. The campaign reached the people of Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
In 2025, RT Academy, RT’s international educational project, held its first in-person journalism masterclasses in Africa – in Ethiopia and Senegal. Moreover, since 2024, RT Academy has organised yearly online courses for aspiring and professional journalists from African countries.
In November 2025, RT co-hosted an awards ceremony for African journalists in Addis Ababa, branded the African Media Awards. Almost a thousand media professionals from across Africa participated in the competition, and over a hundred guests attended the ceremony itself.
Among other projects, RT also began translating its content into African languages, namely Swahili and Amharic, with the expectation of significantly expanding the number of languages and regions covered.
In 2026, RT continues its activities, the purpose of which is to provide African and global viewers with an objective picture of what is happening on the continent and to offer an alternative to mainstream media, reflecting the values expressed in our motto: “Question more”.
Join RT at the upcoming Broadcasters Convention – East Africa 2026, on 26th – 28th May 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya.
