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 sister multimedia news agency RUPTLY.
RT is available in English, French, 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. 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 60 African TV channels already include RT content on airwaves and online platforms.
RT’s global reach has expanded significantly — just in 2024, RT projects received more than 23 billion views online. 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. Germany’s leading FAZ newspaper has also acknowledged RT’s success, stating that “Russia won, first and foremost, the information war” by building a dense African network. This sentiment is echoed by former chief EU diplomat Josep Borrell, who has expressed concerns about the West 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’ Africa: Legacy of the Great Leaders’ has featured the descendants of legendary African leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Patrice Lumumba, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and others.
RT also brought together descendants of African liberators at the Russia-Africa 2023 Forum and invited more than 140 editors-in-chief and journalists to represent African media at the event.
In 2024, RT’s ad campaign «Your values. Shared» in Africa addressed the colonial legacy across the continent. The campaign’s leaders reached the people of Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe with RT advertising posters.
In 2025, RT Academy, RT’s international educational project, will hold its first in-person journalism masterclasses in Africa. During a visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, RT conducted sessions for local media professionals and Ministry of Defence staff. Starting on November 5, 2025, RT Academy launches a second online course for aspiring and professional journalists from African countries.
Join RT at the upcoming Broadcasters Convention – Southern Africa 2025, on 28th – 30th October 2025 at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, Zimbabwe.
